Poems by Shagufta Naj

Shagufta Naj

WIDOW

At each sunrise a young widow mourns
Screams and howls against dawn
Unaware the sweetness of the morn
She sobs with her babe at the lawn.
Tears seem like a pearl on her cheeks
And eyes gleam like a beam
Some drops of tears fall on her feet
And some merge in the soil of heap.
But her pale and naked babe shrieks
Laying on her lap sans feed
Oh! She recalls her past memories
Loosing in her thoughts sans babe’s need.
She finds her path with sorrow
Like a bamboo her life is hollow
Ah! She laments on each morrow
And roams with her babe on the way narrow,
At once she hears a bleat
And gets a glance of a sheep
Who licks with love her lamb’s fleece
And gets emotions at her deep.
Now her heart also beats with joy and glee
And she puts the kisses on her babe’s lips
From the pain she feels free
And fills with love by babe’s kicks.
Now, she finds a state of calm
And gains a power to survive more
Hence, she feels her babe like a balm
To cross this ocean of long shore.

O! BRUTE WAR

The rivers of flood flow with currents
On the ground of the battle field,
The soil has turned to red
With warm blood of humans’ bodies.
The cries and shrieks which I hear
Around the beats of my heart,
Make me restless and turn to numb,
And my soul crawls to help of those suffered.
No! No! No! Not any more
My watered eyes can’t see more,
The sharp and silver gilded blades
Of your heinous swords; being blotted of blood
The swords seem me the most horrible.
O war! O war! O Brute war!
O brute blood suckers! O brute invaders!
Now stop your thoughts of brutality,
This awful massacre and dreadful deeds.
Just have a look with a kind eye
On the people who have lost their lives
Their drops of blood on the soil
Make a request from you with the sighs
And pray “oh! Now no more blood sheds, please.”
They are dying in your eyes
But their souls are still alive,
And on the day of judgment, Oh! bloody men,
Your soul will wriggle for the rest
And you will face the fierce fire of your sins
But Jesus Christ will not come for your redeem.

WOMAN FROM HILL

An old woman, I saw from the hill high
Sweating and panting at the field side
Observing her with a keen eye
The woman and field seemed me alike
Bearing the weight of this world wide
Both led to goal with firm mind.
An old woman, I saw from the hill high
Standing and waiting at the country side
Sparkling eye and the wrinkled face
She put a red mark on her forehead
Cladding a sari with boarder fine
Like a goddess she looked kind.

An old woman, I saw from the hill high
Crouching and panting at the slope side
Putting the bundle on her head
She had the power to face the gale
Weak by time, but strong in will
She was the woman of lush green hill.
An old woman, I saw from the hill high
Blinking and smiling at the river side
Bearing the duties on her shoulder high
She fetched the water with a sigh
Like the rainbow at the sky
She vanished at the bower side.
An old woman, I saw from the hill high
Stepping and strolling at the road side
Seeing her hardships with my open eyes
She left me in thoughts about her life,
Woman who collects the fuel from a mile
She also handles the disputes with a smile.

Setu, August 2017