The day was yet to dawn.
From the warmth of my cosy bed,
as I stepped out of the house,
the entire town slept;
a gigantic cocoon,
in its depth,
the silkiness of existence,
folded in the mystique of darkness,
in the aura of a wasteland from ancient times,
as if the roads, fields, houses and trees cast by a magic spell;
time, to its core drunk with antiquity,
environs perpetuating colour.
In the timelessness of eternity,
in the mute fog,
people in their bed-chambers crouched in sleep,
the radiant moonlight in the sky paled.
A deathly silence,
flames in clay-lamps dwindling to their end.
A probable rain ahead.
Right above the street, chunks of clouds coursed the sky.
Shivering in the wintry wind adjusting the folds of the dark shawl around my body,
wiping away from the canopy of tearful eyes,
images of children serenely asleep,
mumbling to myself,
I reached the riverside,
got into the boat.
The day was yet to dawn.
Yearning for the other shore,
my boat moved with the rushing waves.
The morning star winked.
The boat, water,
the sail, the oars, the darkness and my drowsy self,
all elements converged into one:
a long lost memory flowered in the heart.
Then the day dawned.
The sun took over at noon,
shadows crawled in the descending light,
evening fell,
then darkness cloaked all.
A journey of several hundred nights at last touched the shore.
When the next day dawned,
my house was draped in mourning.
(Translated by Yasmin Hameed)
Nice flow and growing narrative style to cast a great image for the day to dawn. Good piece of writing.
I was just stunned...and then I read it again n again n again...
your poems have great sense with imagination and story.... amazing work that's the only thing i can say....
The sun took over at noon, shadows crawled in the descending light, evening fell, A poem on beautiful description of dawn in its entirety.Well expressed Well done.I enjoyed it. Col Muhammad Khalid Khan
it's a beautiful poem, Rafiq, thanks for sharing...The last 2 lines make it all the more poignant and touching...
I would like very much to read more. That is if you have any more. I like this most. Well done!
Well expressed and aptly worded. You have talent and enough wherewithal to make innings. Go ahead.
We are indebted to Yasmin for translating your beautiful poem... of all the powerful lines my favorite is 'a long lost memory flowered in the heart' For the sake of all of us please keep writing
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
'Don't pay the ferryman, until he gets you to the other side.' I think this is an insightful poem about life, and death. Not nice to think about, but its the only certainty we have... I still have so much to learn...