Rizwan Saleem

THE DEPARTED

Covered, closed and sealed
Fist after fist of moist sand
...

A walk in the rain
Let the drops fall where they may
A walk in the rain
To be soaked to the skin
...

Alone
Under barren trees
That shed leaves like heavenly tears
Undone like strings
...

I die a thousand deaths every day
And regrets come rolling over me
Like waves crashing on jagged reefs
I mourn not the things lost to me
...

Sometimes
There isn't water
In all the oceans and the seas
That can drown
...

Roads taken for escape
Of use no more
Burnt bridges like relics
Stand a stark reminder
...

I stare at the blank page
And wonder where to begin
Since I have run out of words of dismay
My heart gives me ink no more
...

A cage, a dungeon
But not of towers
Or bars that hold
No ball and chains
...

The eyes blazed with fire bright
Hair black as space unknown
Skin smooth like satin touch
In seductive voices she lets her scriptures flow
...

Life ain’t like the dashboard of a car
Gives no warning lights
To tell if things are going wrong
There are roads taken
...

Some Rain

Some rain
some rain for wilted flowers
...

Roads taken for escape
Of use no more
Burnt bridges like relics
Stand a stark reminder
...

I reread the scriptures
Raised my hands to the same sky
My body trembles once again
Of fear that perhaps my supplications would go unanswered
...

To the fallout

I see in the distance skies
How lightning crashes
...

Dark clouds and blizzards
Echoes of silence surrounds
Crystalline water hanging from branches
Evanesce my breath into frozen still air
...

Let it be so
Let it come to your turn
These dark hallucinations of my mind
The hope that your lips burn
...

Lend me your tears
For I have none left
I was crying the day before
For the dead in Iraq
...

Only when on my knees
I saw how far I had fallen
The azure skies above me
Bereft of clouds of shelter
...

My eyes wander
Over every face that I see
So that I may catch some resemblance of you
I breathe in the air
...

The thing about
Being through hell and back
You leave a part of you behind
You bring a part of hell with you
...