When Love is the Last Illusion (Previously, the White Dove of Hope)

Condemned by fate, and mocked by hope, until one dangerous word appears – love.

_________________________

Oh, you sad children of a time so evil and dark,

you are all the product of undesirable circumstances.

Your love always went stale before it could spark,

though you availed all the emerging chances

_________________________

You were the anomaly in the grand scheme;

you should have been smothered when born

Sadly, the plan remained only a dream;

though conceived by the Devil with open scorn

_________________________

You knew while you grew, you had no roots;

you were the useless moss clinging to a boulder

You had no character, no faith, and no attributes,

yet the burdens of life, you carried on your shoulder

_________________________

But you all survived, and yet you go on living;

for what purpose, may I ask in all sincerity

When both fate and life are so unforgiving,

your sustained survival becomes a vulgarity

_________________________

Desist! I suggest, or surrender, I would advise;

nothing will help you persist or even grow

Throw the cards down; please be a little wise,

just cease all efforts and go with the flow

_________________________

What did you just say? Do I hear the word ‘love’?

Yes, perhaps, love is the only solace you may ever find

It is your golden butterfly, a beautiful white dove,

in a world filled with hatred, this word sounds so kind

_________________________

Go on then, caress its warmth while you can,

till the white dove forsakes and abandons you

You will be all done with life; there is no other plan,

nothing else over the horizon for you to view

درد کا آخری شہر

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درد کا آخری شہر

ہر امید، ہر خوشی سے

لاتعلق اور بےخبر

آس کی فضاء میں

لامکاں اور بےخطر

ساکت اور معلق ہے


Read more: درد کا آخری شہر

درد کا آخری شہر

زندگی کے امتحان

آزمائشوں کے درمیان

پچھتاووں تلے دبے

خواہشوں کے گورستان

تڑپتا اور سسکتا

کراہتا کھنڈر ہوتا

لا حاصل تمنا اور 

ناممکن تعبیر کے درمیان

درد کا آخری شہر

اک دور اندھیری وادی میں

ساکت اور معلق ہے


درد کا آخری شہر

جانے انجانے میں

بہت سوں کی پہچان ہے

کچھ درد کے محبوب ہیں

کچھ درد سے انجان ہیں

کچھ آگہی کے آگے

مجبور اور بےکس

کچھ مایوس اور نادان ہیں

کچھ قسمت کے ہاتھوں

لاچار اور بےبس

کچھ ڈرتے اور پریشان ہیں

کچھ کی درد ہی پہچان ہے


درد کا آخری شہر

اس کے سب دروازوں کے

سب کیواڑ مقفل ہیں

اس کے سب مکانوں کے

سب مکین مردہ ہیں

زندہ ہیں، سانس لیتے ہیں

لیکن مردہ ہیں

حسرتوں کے جنازے

قطار اندر قطار

تکمیل کے کندھوں کے

بے سود انتظار میں

پڑے سڑتے ہیں


درد کا آخری شہر

بس خاموش رہتا ہے

اس کے ہر مکین کی

تڑختی شریانوں کے

لامحدود جالوں میں

کرب کا دریا بہتا ہے

سیاہ گاڑھا خون

کالے پارے کی مانند

رینگتا اور الجھتا ہے

تاریک کناروں کے

سرد پتھروں پر سرسراتا ہے

لیکن خاموش رہتا ہے


درد کا آخری شہر

بہت دور صحیح لیکن

مل جاتا ہے

کوئی اونچی فصیل نہیں

کوئی واضح حد بھی نہیں

مگر پھر بھی

جب ڈھونڈا جائے

مل جاتا ہے

نظروں سے اوجھل ہے

لیکن دلوں کو مل جاتا ہے

ہر کارواں کو، ہر مسافر کو

مل جاتا ہے


درد کا آخری شہر

اس کی مہیب تاریکی میں

اک اکیلی روشنی

ٹمٹماتی ہے

جگمگاتی ہے، مسکراتی ہے

ہمدردی کا دیا جلتا ہے

غم گساری کی لو بھڑکتی ہے

ہر مکین کا دل ہے

دوجے کیلئے دھڑکتا ہے

درد کا آخری شہر اور

اس شہر کے سب باسیوں میں

درد مشترک ہے


#Urdu #poetry #poem #life #desires #regret #pain #frustration #darkness #death #disappointment #desperation #hope #empathy #sensitivity #sharing


Chronicles of a Pessimistic Optimist

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Between hope and despair lies a grey hall filled with regret and guilt.

_______________

I have always been a pessimist and also an optimist;

my life is a grey hall, filled with a rainbow mist

My past had been dark, and my future seemed so bright;

the night had been dead, but I said, long live the light

Yet my thoughts had been honest and so very true;

my mood had always been the darkest hue of blue

_______________

I push open the window and scrutinize my past;

I recall everything clearly, the first and the last

I see so many butterflies riding the sunbeams;

some ugly and the others pretty - nightmares and dreams

The womb was very warm, and it was so secure;

but the shelter was a curse when the doom seemed sure

_______________

My memories, when I open the old, musty book;

time had passed so fast, like a fast-flowing brook

Faces and images always passed by in a hurry;

my nostalgia was always chaos, even the chaos was blurry

Within this chaos, bitter conflict had always been a must;

all the treacheries of life and only a little bit of trust

_______________

I have been the prophet of hope and a seer of visions;

but my regret is so bitter for all the bad decisions

The wounded birds, I always made them fly again;

but each time they left a parting gift - a cold pain

I cannot be a savior; it was just a false belief;

there was no pleasure in the pain, just cold, dark grief

_______________

I treaded new paths, and also the dark forbidden places;

roaming in the spirit of adventure, leaving dark traces

Sin appeared to be the wisdom, and virtue seemed bland;

the sense of curiosity kept on burning and was so grand

Desire was the clear water, regret was the muddy silt;

but I always paid the price in the soiled coins of guilt

_______________

Desires were sirens, they bewitched and seduced;

wishes were the flames, but to dust they were reduced

Hope always lived on, but she is a devious bitch;

and disappointment has been so abundant and rich

Wisdom came leisurely; it danced a slow waltz;

the pessimism was true; the optimism was always false

_______________

Life is always a glass half-filled; it is quite right;

darkness always sighs with a promise so bright

Sorrows and joys in a long and tiring queue;

but more of the former than the latter, it’s also true

Within each light, resides a dark shadow;

perched on every tower of hope is a black crow