My Daughter Demands For Crayons Poem by Muhammad Shanazar

For the last several days,
My daughter has been insisting upon me,
“Mom I need twenty four long pencils of colours,
My friend has gifted me a book of sketches
Which from beginning to the end is un-worked”.

She says, “Mom I shall have to fill in colours
In all the drawn dolls,
I have to clothe them all in separate splendidly”.

She says to me, ”Lo! My doll has in the hands
A basket laden with flowers,
I shall have to colour each petal
With a different tinge,
And mom, look on the next page,
There stands a friend of my doll,
I shall have to daub its dress
With enchanting colours,
Bring me crayons, bring me crayons”.

She sits amid the sharpened pencils,
They lie there in order, one before the other,
And I am engrossed on her demand.

“O! My little doll, you are unaware,
The calendar shows it is 25th of the month,
There lay yet bills of utilities on my table,
The kitchen lacks commodities too”.

“O! My little doll,
There are several sketches in front of me
To the end of the book of the month”.

“O! My little doll, my heart urges
That on your demand I should heap up
In front of you all colours
From all bazaars of the world,
And whatever you demand
I should auction for it my dreams”.

“But my little doll you are unaware,
Here the sketch of life lies unfinished by itself,
To fill in it the clours I shall have to put off
Your notebook of sketches,
In the indispensable margins of the book
Of the month,
I shall have to colour the sketches,
And I shall have to console you pretentiously
For some time by pushing back your desires,
And for some time
I shall have to avoid from you furtively”.

Written by Shazia Akbar
Translated by Muhammad Shanazar