*shakuntala Poem by Sadiqullah Khan

The form that bespeaks
In explanations when the character
The way you describe the beauty
So luring for the senses in gold
The hairs and the ocean of eyes
Slim like a gazelle with legs
The camel for the nomad
The bounty when the desert
In storms the convulsive love

But I have decided to say
That you are the love I sought
The desolation of the heart
Only that you exist
When I missed you in the nights
Love poems you say my love
When I sing most with music

But I have decided to say
From my world of fantasy
Where you want me to take
Of broken roads and world peace
Of terror attacks and kidnappings
Of hunger and strife
Of poverty and the black coats
On the air for the absurd

But I have decided to say
Only that what you seek
When the symbols of my love
A mangled photograph a tapestry
Lapis in rock and an empty cup

But I have decided to say
Like Kalidasa my love for you
The mystic Eros speaking truth
Like Shakuntala* in divine act
With butterflies, peacocks and Anqa**
The heavenly birds once play
To the roses take me on a walk
In the distant rainbow I see your image

I have decided my love to forget
Just because I have decided to forget

*A play by classical Indian poet and dramatist, Kalidasa.
** Multicolored heavenly bird.
4/2/2009