On the Bank of Madhumati
One clear forenoon,I sat on the bank
of Madhumati,
The seamless flow
of life in it, made me
wonder: let me stitch my
muse on the stainless face
of its liquid canvas;
I stitched a line
For the aura around was fine;
But when I stitched another,
the tongue of my needle
broke and bled,
turned the canvas red!
... a Dozen Times
That hot and dark July night,And the absence of my man
Gave me no respite,
I didn't sleep
But tossed on my bed;
A candle sat
On a windowsill like a minaret:
Illumining my room;
My still shadow
On the wall, stared at me;
I too fixed my gaze
At the shadow; rose to touch it
To say adieu to my loneliness,
But as my fingertips
Kissed my calm shadow,
I heard a knock on the window
Of my room. It scared me.
I put the candle off immediately
And from within, said: who could it be?
"Open the window or we'll break it," a male
Voice threatened.
I tried to scream,
But couldn't. I felt like
somebody held me by my neck
To choke me.
"Sister f**r, open the window," he threatened again.
"Do it, quickly... or we'll
Break windows, and shoot you inside."
They might be renegades, I thought.
Their mad shouts
Made the san dogs bark;
The barking intensified,
And compelled the men, outside
break a window in pieces;
I wailed and wailed and wailed,
But of no avail;
Since they barged in, a man
Switched the torch on; the light
Fell straight on my eyes, almost blinded me;
They stuffed my scarf in my mouth,
Bound my legs and arms,
And screwed me a dozen times!
About Author
Qaisar Bashir (born, 1988), an educator, a translator, author and poet, hails from Kashmir. He has a Master's Degree in English Literature from Kashmir University. Once Upon A Time, a translation of a Kashmiri novel Akh Dour by Bandsi Nirdoush, is his debut achievement. His poems have been
published in various National and International Journals like The Criterion, Langlit, Muse India and
atunispoetry.com.
