Slavery Poem by Showkat Ahmad Wani

Is it e'er possible a man of faith
Would bow his head beneath the chains of thrall?
A thousand souls may dwell in heaven's light,
Yet leave thy lofty tower desolate.
Was Satan ever crowned eternally,
Or hailed as lord in never-ending reign?
The king who sits upon his golden throne
Is burned by flames of night and break of day.
The feeble self is bound by servitude,
Made low beneath the fire of fleeting breath.
What worth is pride if beggars of the dawn
Are housed within the shrine of rising light?
And if the sun may snare the perfect moon,
Still must the lightning's wave seek higher seas.
(30June,2006)