Author Archives: Shehryar Khawar
Your Hell is Here; your Heaven is Here
One doesn’t wait for them to be found;
One doesn’t wait for them to be earned
Your hell is here, your heaven is here;
and so far this is all what I have learnt
مٹی دے باوے
ایتھے مٹی دے نے سارے
سوہنی سوہنی مورتاں وی
کالیاں پھکی صورتاں وی
اچے لمے شملے وی
ٹلھے ماٹھے کملے وی
مٹی دے سارے باوے نیں
کروڑ تے ہزار
The Inevitability of Sorrow (Previosuly, Seeds of Happiness and Fruits of Sorrow)
What if happiness is only the beginning of sorrow?
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All those who cultivate seeds of happiness,
will one day surely, eat the bitter fruit of sorrow
It’s your destiny, and your legacy, my dear child,
just follow your past, don’t seek a new tomorrow
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All those who know how to love and how to care,
will one day surely meet a sad and lonely end
It’s bound to happen, oh please don’t weep or cry,
it’s not something broken that you can readily mend
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All those who dance, and who laugh clear and loud,
will one day surely shed the bitter tears of loss
It’s the rule, my friend, you can’t run and fight,
you always pay the price, you always bear the cross
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All those who forgive and carry no black grudge,
will one day mourn the loss of their own hearts
You can’t keep on giving, giving more and some more,
there’re always expectations, even when hope departs
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Those who plan and cater for all possible regrets,
will certainly be the most regretful of all in the end
Regrets are the fires that keep the memories warm,
without regrets, there’s only coldness, you can’t tend
The Last Dream of the Dying Lighthouse
Before its stones collapse into darkness, the old lighthouse imagines a final blaze of glory that never comes.
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The eagle soared high above the purple sea,
dark wings embracing the darkness of the night
A lonely lighthouse stood its vigil, tall and free,
alone on the shore, a noble and honorable knight
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Diving down and below, the eagle peered closely,
and his mighty heart was filled with a heavy sorrow
The lighthouse was crumbling down and in ruins, mostly,
it may have had a wonderful past, but no tomorrow
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The lonely lighthouse was very old, now just a token,
its tall structure, draped and cloaked in grey shadows
The glass lantern was long shattered and broken,
who broke it, and why and when? Who really knows?
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The sea was cruel and was full of wind and storms,
terribly angry and high waves venting frustration
Breaking apart furiously in white foam of many forms,
the foundation badly shaking, but still holding station
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The storms wrecked ships and boats, big and small,
hundreds of souls lost, and at sea, they all perished
The lighthouse stood on the shore and watched them all,
the loss was dire; there was nothing to be cherished
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It served no noble purpose or aim, no, not anymore,
a lighthouse devoid of any beacon or shining light
Being old and crumbly did not make him any sore,
having no light was its biggest tragedy and plight
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He just stood alone and prayed to God Almighty,
he prayed for nothing else but one single last chance
A last chance to fulfill his only purpose and legacy;
a dying shaman pleading and begging for a last dance
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Maybe God listened to him as He is kind and benevolent,
plucking a burning star from the heavens, He tossed it down
Hitting the tower, it exploded in embers, an event so malevolent,
but it lit the beacon, making the lighthouse wear a gold crown
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‘Ah! I have fulfilled my legacy, and now I can die satisfied’,
the lighthouse loudly yelled its last-ever cry of sheer joy
Very briefly, it was alight, at least it seemed as if it tried,
but to the wandering and lost ships, it sure cried ‘ahoy!’
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The eagle soared high above the dark, inky depth,
watching the shooting star and the high-burning fire
Sadly watching the lighthouse crumbling, it’s sad death,
he prayed for its noble soul over the burning pyre
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But, no desires were fulfilled that fateful, dark night,
God was busy elsewhere; there was no grand scheme
It was peaceful, no shooting stars, no fire, and no light
Alas! the lighthouse was only dreaming its last dream
Shehryar khawar 