Lines Written On The Highway Poem by Fathima Usman

The brand new highway;
If ever it was old;
Has replaced the old dirt track;
Smooth, curvy, shiny
And glittering under the summer sun,
The toying of the mirage.
Bordered with ordered blocks,
Black and white, black and white,
And made of hard concrete,
Black, the asphalt snake of modernity
Coiling through mountains,
Cities and villages, cities and villages.

Flowering plants shake their heads
And moan under the breath
Of cars flying in full speed.
The jealous moon complains
Of nobody admiring her silent beauty
In this world of speed.
Speed is the right of cars
For, the highway needs speed
To boast of its strength.
It seems to hurry you along
And makes you smile
When you experience the thrill of velocity.

The old dirt track was no good,
Narrow, hard, stony
And full of pebbles,
Suitable only for hard-footed bulls
And mighty jolting wagons
But not for fashionable men
And women who like to show off
The advancement in their vehicles.
Speed is their God
And the highway their oracle.
Time and fuel need to be saved
Even when lives are lost,
But changes have to be made
When the world changes - to keep up.
Travelling is easy now
And more cheerful than before.
The road takes you
Wherever, whenever you want to go.
Once the destination is reached,
Another highway welcomes you;
Better than friends and relatives;
To explore and enjoy new destinations.
Remarkable things happen
When the world is branded with ‘change'.

The cars cannot be seen at night,
Only their headlights like glow worms
That appear bigger and bigger.
Light or dark, night or day,
Rain or sun, summer or winter,
Cold or hot, this day or that,
Our friend would always wait.
The highway loves every traveler,
Would take on any traveler
Who loves to go on miles and miles;
It's one of man's masterpieces
And a looking-glass that reveals
New places and places with new changes.