Zehra Nigah
Zehra Nigah Poems
Brimming with culture, the very same shops,
streets embellished with history;
with hands stretched out
or heads bowed,
...
Right here was the ocean,
angry, petulant,
pounding its head against the rocks,
...
As if in a dream,
I remembered last night,
The tree in a corner of my garden,
Studded with flowers of moonlight.
I would play beneath its shade,
Sheltered afternoons long from the sun,
Swing on the boughs, meeting them as they swayed,
Touch the flowers and run.
Into its trunk had been sunk
Scores of nails.
Many a time had I been warned
Not to touch those nails.
That tree, they said,
Was haunted.
But a wise man
Had cast a spell on it,
Trapped the giant within,
Transfixed him with nails.
Should anyone pull out those pins,
It would release the genie within.
Which would devour every flower,
Which would sap every leaf.
Then this house, this home would burn
In a flash, into ashes it would turn.
Within the confines of this body and soul
Dwells such a moon-silvered tree
Its leaves I've always confided in
Each flower has been a friend to me.
Still, I dearly love
The shade of this, my tree.
And in its trunk until this day
Lives bewitched that same genie.
Even now I live in dread
If ever I should touch those nails
That ogre might escape
The flowers he may not devour
The leaves he may not want
But my home would surely burn!
Would it really into ashes turn?
...
Zehra Nigah Biography
Zehra Nigah (Urdu: زہرہ نگاہ) is an Urdu poet and scriptwriter from Pakistan. She was one of two female poets to gain prominence in the 1950s when the scene was dominated by men. She has written several television serials. She has also received various awards including Pride of Performance in recognition of her literary works. Zehra was born in Hyderabad, India. She migrated to Pakistan during the partition in 1947. Her father was a civil servant with an interest in poetry. Zehra's elder sister, Surayya Bajia, is also a writer. One of her brothers, Anwar Maqsood, is a satirist and public speaker and another brother, Ahmad Maqsood was Secretary to the Government of Sindh. She married Majid Ali, who was a civil servant and had interest in Sufi poetry.)
The Best Poem Of Zehra Nigah
Justice
Imprisoned,
I am also free
in this little room;
the sun moves across
a window in the ceiling
before it sets;
rays of light,
sparingly enter;
on the path they make,
I walk home;
my father, even now,
returning
from the city,
brings along for me,
a shawl, a comb, bangles and kohl,
and so much more;
both my brothers,
study in the mosque,
as they did;
God's edicts
they read, memorise;
my sister puts away in a basket,
my share of bread;
feeds it to the sparrows
at dawn;
my mother is kind of crazy,
gathering stones
or talking to sparrows
as they pick the grain;
she says:
when the sparrows will fathom the truth,
in their beaks and claws
they would clutch the stones;
then would rage a storm
to ravage law-givers,
tear down the pulpits;
justice He would deliver Himself,
the Supreme Lord,
the same for one and all,
the revered, the exalted.
How should I tell my mother,
am I the Kaaba,
the House of the Lord?
Translated by Yasmin Hameed
Zehra Nigah Comments
Zehra Nigah Popularity
Zehra Nigah Popularity
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
5/4/2024 4:00:54 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Un beatable poetry introduced by one of the famous poetess of India Pakistsn.