abandon

adh umar sa'aya bhee saath choRh daita hay

zair e saaya

zair e saaya 

dhoop maiN burgud
khalvat maiN zoolf
baarish maiN chath
aur
is barafzar maiN
oos raigzar ki khaahish
             saayouN maiN
saayouN ki talash

bazzar e zindagi say
mazra e khamoshi
ki daimi joos'tu'joo 
aur maut say zindagi ka 
na khatam honay wala
daira 
             aur joos'tu'joo 
saayay ki

discarding dictats

discarding dictats

tu hay fiq't aabla e paa

aur talaash hay mujh ko

samander kay such ki*

lines drawn in mythical sands

- borders,  created and nurtured

by somber CEOs  of Religion Inc.

to police and protect

while their lambs lob grenades

at each other's myths

they come in many guises

and wear colorful garbs

all of them have stern looks

in common

much to the amusement

of gods of yesteryears

we discard sermons

and dictats

and seek newer gods

in time's ocean

* you are but a blister on my foot

while i endeavor and search

for the time-ocean's truth

it'll be all right

it'll be all right

it'll be all right

the storm will subside 

there will be no charge 

from the khakis

or the men in black robes

(they are) all inflected

with the same righteous virus

(they are) all so very concerned

about our welfare

do not disbelieve them

the khakhis, the robes

the talking heads

retired intellectuals
earnest folks

worried about our welfare

it'll be all right

it'll be all right

The Argumentative Dog

t: How are we today, Nawwab?
N: We?
t: Yes, we.
N: We aren't 'we'...we are different.
t: We aren't.
N: Yes we are.
t: Kaisay?
N: I can call a dog a dog.
t: I can also call a dog a dog.
N: I can call a bitch a bitch.
t: Shall I take you for a walk?
N: We do not subscribe to insaniyat but you do to haivaniyat.
t: You are reinforcing our common heritage. Inside every man there is an animal.
N: Animals do not kill indiscriminately.
t: True.
N: We have no use for after life
t: True.
N: We do not believe in God or go on killing in her name.
t: True.
N: I believe in dog made stuff.
t: Ouch! People of the Book will be alienated.
N: Religions and faiths are dogmatic.
t: Now that is some observation, Nawwab.

these are not my words

wrinkled sighs, folded dreams, blinded ideals
lips untouched, feelings parched
imagination wingless, words in flight
inadvertent good orphaned
goodness indifferent
belief probing elephant in the dark
delusion and betrayal five armed goddess
with spine of hatred
insouciant hope hibernating 
in black hole of slippery faith
hatred masquerading as ordained wisdom
                                        abnormal the norm
hope waltzing with one armed faith
                                        to the orchestra of hate
assurances of all's well raining from high towers
                                        at ungodly hours
god of all gods smiling somewhere
told you these are not my words

laikin

koh'r e zulmaat say 
ooththi hui ik ma'soom khilkhilahat
aur pus e pardah ik aah 
kisi kar'b e musalsil maiN mubtala 

souchta hooN hijrat 
jo m'ray naseebouN maiN thee
itni buri na thee
phir yeh khayal satata hay
saf e bay hiss maiN 
ger hota maiN shaamil 
aur aasmanoN say bay khab'r
bina per, doosrouN ki tarah 
bay khauf o ehsaas, pervaaz kerta
laikin....

bijli

deen nahiN bijli hay
jo bila imtiaz
khaas o aam
per girti hay

shabistaanoN kay bhaNwar

kuch bijli bhee tarki thee
kuch Olay bhee giray thay
sar e shaam se sehr tlak
yeh silsila chalta raha
kashish main hua afaaqa 
na tishnagi main hui kami
yeh dekh ker oos nay farmaya
kaisii hay yeh tishnagi
hum kiya batlaiN shokh ko
shabistaanoN kay bhaNwar
say najat pa'ain tou jaanaiN

what next

if we discover
what we pursued life long
what next

sawal

ger woh jo mil ja'aye
phir kis ki talash 
maiN niklaiN gay hum 

the volcano ululates

under the skies
below the abyssal ocean floor
behind the veiled smile
beneath the abysmal roots
covered by the october carpet 
of april's distant hopes 
lies embers of cool calm
shattered suddenly
as the volcano ululates

ramooz e bay khudi

zahid ko bhala kaun batla'aye
asrar o ramooz e bay khudi

sub woh dana jo thay musahib 
shaikh o zahid o brahman kay
chiragh oonka sadiouN say gul hay

haaN karobar e nishat o meh
ruka na rukay ga, gaamzun hay

bad news galore

is there any sense
in sharing feelings
any more?

each day
heralds gross news

based on garnished truth
fermented in hatred
regurgitated in biases
cooked in lies
spun on social media

river of delusions

we sail
            in the river of delusions
swim
            in the stream of myths
float
            in the sea of revelations
and profess to follow
            path of peace

while all around
            some of us
create divisiveness
            and mayhem
in the name of
            a copyrighted god

suspension of disbelief

belief 
suspended

disbelief
suspended

we sail
oarless
armed with 
suspect faith

                         and 
with litle provocation
get agitated

poessay: mirage tales ix

the search unyielding
               unending
not infinite
both of us know
it'll end
the goal 
is in the pursuit

poessay: mirage tales viii

miles to go?
miles to go nowhere
each day a new landscape
a new city
              on a hill
              by the sea
              by the lake
              in the desert
miles left behind
miles to go
the search unyielding
              unending

till we drop

admitting transgressions
                           when 
perfidy meant infidelity
infraction or infarction
related to matters 
                           of the heart
goofing or golfing
living or loving
a cocktail of misgivings
whirling in inspired tales
                            till we drop

brass plaque

we talked about him

the times we shared

the fun we had

playing chess till late morning

his wife shared disliking 

being labelled widow

the daughter wistfully

said she misses his kindness

the son kept to himself

they gave me the directions

to his resting place

in the vale

surrounded by the BC mountains

m said gentle folks go early

i found it hard

to say i miss you friend

i have never talked

to a brass plaque before

poessay: mirage tales vii

hud - bay hud...

khudi aur

khudi kay kinaray

khud shinasi

                   aur

khud faraibi

taa hud de nazar

                         sarab

ik bhanwar

is 

ya oos 

talatum maiN

rajasthan

approaching him mid field
she pulled her palloo
across her face
and handed him his lunch
the smile on his face
spelled love
in the mid noon sun

persiflage

in silences and pauses
so much can be revealed
how much, she asked
way too much
you are mischievous
believe that at your peril

jamhooriyat

kya karaiN
suraj ki roshni
barish ki cheetaiN
barfani hawa
masoom ki muskurahat
kisi ki bakwas
sub per barabar girti 

democracy

thoughts
wayward
sunlight
cascading flurries
raindrops
captivating smile
songs in the wilderness
idle chatter
are so democratic

blase

it is shutters down late
kiya karaiN?
what to do?
time is no constraint
               anytime
one can 
make love
surf, sleep
               or
               tweet

fate / waq't ka haseen sitam

fate

once he cajoled

'you're with us

or against us'

today

he walks the dog

                       alone

waq't ka haseen sitam

kal 

kahaaN woh shahana khitab

aur aaj

gumnami ka ik aur musafir

syncretic regurgitating.

priorities

ever so fickle

change with food

                       for thought

or 

                       in the stomach

the frown

honesty is best

you agree

am perplexed

at your frown

when i replied

to your query

'how do i look?

from turkey to cow to lamb

rituals
are an excuse
if truth be told
men would have us
dead