Beyond Pain Poem by Sadiqullah Khan

Exceeding the limits of human spirit
The pain unending
Arising out of the human disorder
A whole section of humanity
Busy inflicting pain
Human helplessness of utmost measure
The old lying on ground for a breath of air or a dropp of water
A battlefield in the high noon when the sun is two spears up
The wounded being recollected and thrown into a ditch
Makeshift arrangements of tearing apart a limb
An x-ray machine under a tent in a room made of tin
No electricity

The doctor’s visit is a wish that remains unfulfilled
On the day
The attendants slept on the road
Respectable men and women
Children and the new born
From far off area
Traveling on foot or on animal back
Escaping a warlord or the lord of the state
Pockets deep you require
Is written on the face of the doctor
His nurse or the druggist
Hell you want to see
Here is one

In the wee hours
When darkness prevails
And the angel of death is visible
Mercy like a sip of water in that heat
Is on the lips of every one
The remedy for the pain is going beyond pain
Beyond pain when all the senses are lost
When human spirit has given hope
When mercy is helpless
When prayers and soothsaying have no effect
Like a hand held fan made of straw
A fresh breeze of air
On the face of the departing one
When every body is the victim of the disease

Where shall then I turn
In some hope
And in some mansion
Under the sky
Who is celebrating the spoils of the war
Who counts the heads
And who counts the left over
Who decides the fate of the people

I need some fresh air
O heart dear
Bear the ignominy of being a human
After long night of anguish and pain
Beyond pain is my remedy
When I shall cease to feel any pain