Mariam Taufeeq

ON PESSIMISM

Riding my streamlined horse of a ship
That turquoise perfumes waft away,
I sail towards the yoke of dawn
And towards the light of day.
I sail towards the half-full moon
And towards the carpeted sky.
Only to fall on the brazen land
And bid my dreams 'goodbye.'


ON NIGHT

Dragons of twilight, grasp your soul,
Poison your envy and engulf you whole.
The evils of life no longer decay
The flightiness of wreck carries you away
Without eyes, burning eyes craving dawn and day.


ON COURAGE

Nails, nails wedged in my flesh
Don't carve me in the wall.
Your foolish desires don't strain me
Against courage, fear will fall.


ON DESPAIR

Led into my realm of dreams,
I beheld a starry, tranquil vision.
What brought me down in the end,
Was not my fiery ambition.
It was the unlettered people,
For when I climbed my steeple,
Envy dragged me down.


ON GREED

Hands leave hands in ravaging search
For coins buried beneath layers of earth.
But layer upon layer, not a glimmer found,
And hands once held too are gone.