Chasing Shadows(09-12-2015) Poem by Prof Niamat Ali Murtazai

Time beheads man’s wishes and makes him sad
After some time, his targets seem a fad.
In childhood, he weeps bitterly for toys
In youth, he does the same for other joys.
Coruscating hopes get confused with murk
He gets lost in mundane loss and perk.
Mid-age woes and wishes build a new hut
Different walks, at last, come in common rut.
In old age, all things seem to be ropy
At last, he sleeps under the earthen canopy.
No one lives with him, no one brings him back
On all sides, he observers lack, lack and lack.
The whole life seems to be a wild goose chase
Not more concrete than shadows seems each phase.
Shadows can’t be caught in wise thought’s hard noose
Here all shrewd designs and fast knots prove loose.
Shadows stand cleverer than man’s wisdom, fake
They make musty all the cookies he can bake.
Whole sojourn is spent in chasing shadows
Into barren lands, change lush green meadows.