Irrevocable Acclaim Poem by Sadiqullah Khan

On the cold faces of children
On blued cheeks and parched lips,
In the fenzy of the eyes, on torn sleaves.
Heavy ornament of silver
A man bowing to his gun for having discovered;
A new god. The bride's hand must touch it;
For her future will hang on to its valor.
Some women were dancing to the drummer's beat,
Some men praying solemnly to the arson in front.

We saw a divine distributing amongst the poor.
To earn himself a piece of paradise;
To alleviate the carnage and the terror stricken,
Young boys, who will have to pull along;
Their grief stricken mothers and sisters.
Who have their fathers eaten up by wild fires.

The nostalgic reminiscence of the past
Hung on to the daggers worn by men, with
Handles made of bone and sharpened on a stone.
Who were wearing high turbans and who belonged;
To a past that was two hundred years old.

One day a soldier will be standing facing rocks;
Requesting the beleaguered stones to parade,
Or a wrought stream of water to look for fish.
Or hold a dried branch of tree to find fruit.

Sadiqullah Khan
Peshawar
December 6,2012

Wrought iron sculpture, Ghana