Voices Within: Ayaz Rasool Nazki

Ayaz Rasool Nazki, a multilingual poet, a man of all seasons with diverse interests, has a distinctive niche in the literary world, voicing a sensibility that is at once postmodern and traditional. A poet in Urdu and Kashmiri with many publications, he broke into English with a translation of Mir Ghulam Rasool Nazki’s Sufi quatrains. His English poems ‘songs of light’ was published to critical acclaim. His poems have appeared in reputed anthologies. His English novel Satisar-the valley of demons has been described as a remarkable work of historical fiction. Tree without a nest is his latest collection of poems.

The Tree

Decay began years ago

First, leaves withered

Dried and fell off

Then the branches

Twirled and broke away

One by one

The nests disappeared

Then only a passing bird

Would rest for a while

on the stump of a branch

And then fly away

Leaving the forlorn tree

As lonely as before

The tree stands in silence

Waiting for the gush of wind

It's moment of deliverance! 

***

New year

Where time stands still

The water in the pond

Makes no waves

The leaves on the tree branches do not move

As no wind ever blows

The only worth mentioning achievement

Is a peaceful burial!

Graves without tombstones

Are the only trophies

Adorning the shelf in the drawing rooms

And all the epitaphs, composed through the year

Are pasted on the sky for safe keeping

Children running after the kites over the treacherous terrain

Never return to their mothers 

***

Spring

before the almond blossoms

ride the chariot of spring breeze

before the tresses on willow bark

grow into a cascading fall

before the autumn buried under frost

germinates into green

before the nightingale breaks into her spring song

before the bee takes to its wings inside the woods

before the brook unfolds its serpentine locks

and begins its journey afresh on sand

I have to wipe the blood stains

from my window panes

---

Setu, February 2022