Is There A Bleeding Heaven? Poem by Hanna Abideen

Holding a bunch of tulips plucked
From the vale of Kashmir,
Eight year old jumana sat on the kishti beside me.
I raised arms to greet the shepherd grazing
Kashmiri pure merinos on open meadows.

Glancing at the sunlit get reflected in dal.
In a blink of an eye I thought about the dying lake,
How clear the 'jewel in the crown -
of Kashmir' was in my childhood!
The aroma of dense pine trees,
Snow-capped majestic mountains,
Plentiful wildlife, scenic splendour,
Vibrance of saffron in shalimar altogether
Make this 'The heaven on Earth'.

Kishti moored and we got out of it.
I embraced and kissed her on
Forehead telling to take care.
I found tears welled up in her charming blue eyes.
Manifestly deep tales over bloodshed created unseen wounds in her soft heart!

She brought a downward curve in her adorable countenance however said to me
; 'I know, abbu, you won't forget to do it
Wherever I go outside our sweet home,
'Cause we are Kashmiris - the caged ones'!

For a year children like her missed school,
What should I say to console my child?
How long we have to suffer in agony?
Do evil eyes make this a hell or bleeding heaven?
How to stick on our guns before their guts?