Ancestral Gun Poem by Asad Zaidi

Do pay us a visit

at home some time
and see for yourself

our poverty in all its grandeur
 


There is a medieval sort of a gun

long in disuse

the brass on this inheritance of ours

has turned green and the wrought iron is black
 


It takes an hour to load the shell

another half to light the fuse

and as much to bring it in position
 


As a weapon to be used on adversaries
there is none quite as useless

or unconvincing
 


One look at it 

and our enemies burst out laughing
 


It is unsuitable 

even for firing in salutation

after all how long can you keep

a guest waiting at the doorstep

(Pushtaini Top)
Translated from Hindi by Jitendra Bhatia