My Man Of Steel

My Man Of Steel

I knew a man of steel.

He left me what seems like a decade ago.

He taught me how to walk. 

He showed me the greatest gift of God,

The Bible, which he lived and adored.

His faith in God was blind and true.

Through many trials he had been,

Trusting Jesus, he tore them apart.

He fought life's battle to the end.

Oh and was his head held high.

I've never known a man,

With such passion to face the storm.

He took the bullets meant for me,

And smiled as they bounced off.
His cape gave me warmth,
And protected me from the winds of evil.
His arms still strong stood me as I faltered.

He flew high in the clouds while serving, 

And saved many lives educating.

My man of steel was my father,

He loved me dearly.
And he will protect us forever,
For his spirit flies freely.

Nanna

Nanna

'Stop! Put that back!

Say your grace first.'

Orders these were once,

Orders from my Hanna,

A woman of immense strength.

Through all the sorrows she endured,

A frown she did not wear.

A husband lost, a son taken,

Her mettle deepened further.

She taught me to be in-trepid,

To sail life's stormy seas.

A mentor she has been to me,

From early days till now.

Involuntary my being moves,

To be the woman she saw in me.

Honour, valour stayed with her,

Insipte her ailments, to the last.

She may be resting with Him now,

But her spirit breathes in me!

My Lord, My God

My Lord, My God

I see rivers of tears flowing.

Wailing, crying, lamentation.

I see fathers, tearing their hair,

I see mothers wishing death.

Have my eyes lost their strength,

Or do I see crimson everywhere?

Laughters have been subdued,

Futures have been butchered,

Dreams have been shattered,

Their heartbeats have been stopped.
They have stabbed our hearts.
Your hand-made flowers forced to wither.
The trees cry their wood in tears,
To honour their fallen friends, lovers.
Alas, there is no more wood, again, O Omnipotent!

Why, why, why my Lord?

Why hast Thou forsaken my land, my children?

Why keep us alive to bear grief forever?

Will my heart be torn at my peoples loss always?

Why my Lord, my God? 

Why this animosity? Why this bloodshed?

My tears flow like raging rivers Lord.

What must they feel whose children have been...

Why Lord? 

Show us Your compassion, Lord.

Show us Your mercy,

Show us Your strength.
Pull the locks off our tongues, Lord.
Give our bones strength to fight this menace! 

She Lives His Dream

She Lives His Dream

She sits in front of the mirror,

Being adorned and beautified.

She hears voices laughing,

They are from her childhood.
Voluntarily, her eyelids come together,
She sees her hero, her friend.
She walks the ramp, feet jittering,
And feels a kiss on her forehead.
She struggles to deliver her dialogues on set,
A smile eases the exigent demands.
They call her on stage,
To applaud her, to shower her with trophies,
To adorn her with accolades.
Her soul trembling, she misses him,
She misses his warmth, his heart beat.
And yet she smiles, like him,
For she feels his arms around her.
He is with her always, her father,
For she lives his dream.

She Need Not

She Need Not

She need not love me back, 

It is not a bargain nor a sale.

Love, my friends, in its purest,

Seeks not return or alms.

Woe to me.

Her heart I could not win.

She need not kiss my lips,

Let them be parched, dried, bruised without hers.
She need not breathe into me,
Let me be gasping for life.
She need not slay my demons with the touch of her hand,
Let me be driven into the wilderness.
Let my head be hung in loss.
Let me be a drunkard lying on the streets, stoned by children.
Let me be spit at, let me be laughed at.
She need not smile at me,
Let me be tormented a castaway.
She need not love me back,
For I am not worthy of her.

Carbon

Carbon

As beautiful as the diamond she may be,

So too is her heart, 

A stone.

She sparkles,

Only reflecting the light that falls on her.
A stone can never be faithful.
Carbon can never be useful.
She is carbon.
Hardened by time,
The cutter has removed flaws,
Only to make her beautiful,
To be worn,
Not to be loved.
She is carbon.
She pollutes my soul with her love.
Choked, gasping hard am I,
When I breathe her.
And she, ever so slowly,
Creeps into me,
Blocking my arteries,
Putting my mind in spans of unknowingness,
In a vaccum,
In a bottomless pit,
Into the pitch black.

Damn You're Screwed Pakistan!

Yesterday was the International Day for Persons With Disabilities. And in  what a wonderful way we celebrated it. Lahore, the centre of everything these days, witnessed what was, well inhumane seems to be an understatement.

Blind persons, asking for an increase in the quota for jobs, were beaten by police to prevent them from peacefully heading towards the CM House. Oh, sorry, His Highness' castle!

Yes Pakistan, you're screwed!

But I beg China, Germany, Turkey and all other foreign investors to come and invest here.

Invest in Pakistan, where artists are mugged on their way back from a performance. They also don't have their occupation as an option in the National Identity Card Database. And don't forget they're called 'Marasis' in Paki-land.

Invest in Pakistan, where girls from the minorities are forced to convert and people are burnt alive for personal vendettas. Where men, women and children of different sects are targeted and killed everyday. Yet we kill those who oppose the blasphemy law and 'forgive' those who actually commit it because they have apologised and are, well, celebrities-turned-evangelists!

Invest in Pakistan where the national game Hockey is in tatterrs and are asking for financial help from well-to-do individuals to attend tournaments. Oh, before I forget the Pakistani Blind Cricket Team Captain, a two-time world champion was also amongst those beaten up by the police in Lahore.

Please invest in Pakistan, where charitable organisation like Edhi and Chippa are looted in broad daylight. Invest here where all types of trafficking is 'legal'. Especially that of children.

Invest here, where we issue permits to influential Middle Eastern Shiekhs for hunting the houbara bustard.

And most importantly invest in this screwed up country where journalists are threatened, targeted, jailed and killed for bringing out the truth especially if it highlights the incapabilities of this government.
Oh, sorry, dynasty!

Please I beg you to invest, but in the meanwhile I'll keep my money invested in other countries. 

Your Words

Your Words

I sit down to write to you,

To write for you,

To make you understand how chaotic I am,

Without your smile.

Without you.

You're words of abnegation,

Have left me hollow.

These words were all I had,

Now they too have abandoned me.

What will it take?

Diamonds, rubies, silver, gold?

Do you not know,

You are all these and more?

Or, like these stones my love,

Have you no heart?