Dungeon Of Death Poem by Mohammad Younus

God! bless my soul!
I am reeling under appalling sorrow and anguish
Let me walk through my country without fear
There's only terrific chill running down my spine
I used to love on lovely lakes and roaring brooks
I used to wander through the snow with my friends
I used to play on the surface of frozen waters
I used to enjoy shikara-rides in the Dal lake
But! Now the clouds carrying blood vapours
Float in looming masses, in wild stillness,
They rain flecks of blood on my crown
While thundering and lightning mortars flash and fly
I get scared and bury my head in mother's lap
We were not once so wretched on the earth
But merciless gunners of hostile regime stole our peace
As sunheat melts the icycles and burns the woods
Our joys they snatched one by one
Eh! we are left in a narrow dungeon of death;
Why this carnage? I am at loss to understand
Can I not woo-back those old delights?

Mykoul