Given In Adoption Poem by Sadiqullah Khan

I may have ignored or given in on you,
Had it not been to the elegance
And the gentle nature of your demeanor.

We could have parted like a breeze
Has a sudden end before a heavy downpour,
Or clouds broken open into distant lighting.

Yet the gold strips on your magnificent head,
Soft brown eyes mulled over a lumber-sleep
Or myself becoming nimble, stark light.

Had you not lived with us for two years
And you not slipped onto the glass shininess,
To sleep on and dream we do not know what?

You lost snow-bell the first one
To a cruel accident, and the odd eyed second,
Who went lost in the maze of the night, where?

And had not it been for the daily chores,
Of your ‘Meo food’ or the soft tender tuna
Of ‘Whiskas’. Your Vet’s cautious needles –

Loyal! O son of Bengal Tiger, you palace-cat,
Walked only on the finest marble and you
Who never asked more than what was given.

You had the last bath in rain on the way,
Someone might be taking more care
And living the loneliness out there from your life.

Such urban decency and sophistication
As your spine bent, to give a subtle touch
To the bare feet, that you needed to be purred.

Only watch through the window,
Your curiosity was just diminishing returns
As if you knew the laws of nature in perfect ensemble.

Or your eyes in an indifferent manner open,
A stray black-cat appeared on the roof
Or you warned on the territory of your extensions.

Or you may not have been Wareesha’a pet,
Who till the last time waved her little hand
To say adieu, and for me taking you all along.

Then as we move on to find life elsewhere,
You might be enjoying freedom’s given promise
Because of your gentleness, they readily took you to adoption.

-On giving Casper - my daughter Wareesh’s Persian cat, in adoption.

Sadiqullah Khan
Islamabad
February 18,2015.