Poems  from Young and Old - Ruminations

Sunil Mattoo Shahzada  

Lonely clouds drifting somewhere,

So bereft of earthly care,

In virgin expanse of sky,

Like new born's first cry.

Quiet stands the chinar's harvest,

Firm on our loved earth's chest,

In silence eagle's flight,

Oh! who flies this kite.

Now! Now, I wait for crimson sun to rise,

In free and blue skies,

Over temples where once bells rang,

Over brooks where village damsels sang.

Oh! suffer me to be a foreigner,

To my valley, my home, my cozy corner,

In depth of dreams most intense,

My breath fills with your soil's fragrance.

I smelt it in my mother's hands,

While surging through time's sands,

In ruins & among owl's hoots,

I search the scent of my roots.

In tresses of your forests,

Now that the golden past rests,

Lonely, caressed only by breeze,

Scattered along with precious memories,

Of our people, or race

Those onlookers of our fallen grace

Those stony monoliths of Pandavas,

Strangling tears in utter loss.

I bequeath them to your wounded bosom,

See look at my helplessness awesome,

Till I am ashamed and cover my lack,

And muster courage to come back.

Sunil Mattoo 'Shahzada'

DISCLAIMER:                                                                       

The views expressed in the Article above are author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article.

Courtesy: April-May 1995, Koshur Samachar