Who Gives a Shit?

A brutal, unapologetic poem about meaning, indifference, and the absurdity of existence.

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Who gives a shit if we win or if we lose;

or if we go free, or if we tighten the noose?

We are all here to walk for only a while,

some walk for ages, and some for a mile

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Who gives a shit if you remember our deeds;

or forgotten by all for whom we sow the seeds?

We are all here to do our own part,

some make it a burden, a few make it an art

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Who gives a shit if we remain forever chaste;

or if we surrender to lust even with distaste?

We were blessed with pleasure by Him;

we must follow its fulfilment at a whim

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Who gives a shit if we walk a virtuous path;

or if we love what’s forbidden and invite His wrath?

Sins are seductive, and virtue is so boring;

to walk straight is dull, and so indulging is the whoring

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Who gives a shit if we are as moral as the prophets;

or if we favour immorality because of huge profits?

Comfortable is what this life is supposed to be;

luxury is what we should all pursue with glee

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Who gives a shit if we believe in one or more gods;

or, if we choose to be faithless and don’t bet on odds?

We may decide to be a herd without a shepherd;

but in a race for survival, we need to be the leopard

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Who gives a shit if we ever get what we want;

or if we fail and are ready to face each taunt?

When we get lucky, we should thank our stars;

when we miss the mark, it was never ours

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Who gives a shit if we are as selfless as we claim;

or if we are all selfish, playing our own game?

Life is so merciless, as we have all lived and seen;

on the other side, it is always brown and never green

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Who gives a shit if we keep on living for long;

or if we die tomorrow, being crushed by a throng?

We didn’t matter at all, we never really mattered;

our dreams of grandeur should be all shattered

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Who gives a shit if all goes quiet when we die;

or if it all restarts and we are born anew with a cry?

One cycle or one after another, a sequence or progression,

we may all be one or a part of a large procession

The Last Song

When the last song is sung, nothing is denied—not love, not guilt, not longing.

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Come let us sit by this brightly burning fire;

let us forget all and everything, the good and the dire

Let the high flames defrost our frozen souls,

all the cold voids within and all the black holes

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Come let us search for and grab our broken violins;

let us sing songs, and remember and repent our sins

Let the warmth of our company mend our broken hearts,

all the joys and regrets - together and in parts

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Come let us lament, the fading memory of old love;

let us caress our nostalgia - the delicate, grey dove

Let the stories we tell mark our long and sad past,

let them cherish our tears, which dried up so fast

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Come let us remember innocence, which was lost forever;

let us applaud corruption, the seduction was so very clever

Let us rethink all our deeds, so lofty and so dark,

let us not pass a harsh judgment, with a red mark

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Come let us sit by this brightly burning fire;

let us blow it anew, the flames loftier and higher

Let us say farewell to everything, ambition, and desire;

warmly welcoming the end, the savior, and the pyre

The Boat that was Doomed Forever

There was once a very small boat;

made of polished, dark mahogany

It had to keep itself forever afloat;

its habits were a strange homogony

The boat being very small and petty;

it didn’t matter in His design at all

But its fate was written in the jetty;

in a few sentences, dark and small


‘You are hereby destined, you old one;

ordained to sail to non-existent shores

No other options or choices are none;

all the other paths end on locked doors’

‘Read these words, for it is your fate;

eternally destined to bet on lost causes

Do take it from me and do take it straight;

there is only anguish and no applauses’

The boat surely didn’t want this fate;

but life was cursed and forever doomed

Distress was certain and was never late;

the horn of frustration forever boomed 

Still, the old boat didn’t lose hope;

and started each journey with faith

Braving the waves, no anchor or rope;

a lonesome ghost, a silent wraith


There were storms and hard rain;

the boat did not care and moved on

There was damage and even pain;

the boat always waited for the dawn

Sometimes it saw lights and visions;

smiling with hope, it rowed on

But those were all bitter delusions;

the visions, what its fancy had drawn


Sometimes, it heard joyous laughter;

with a hopeful heart, it shouted ‘ahoy!’

Trying to chase the voices, it went after;

but found only silence, no mirth, no joy

Well, that was the life of this poor boat;

the lonely boat that was doomed forever

This was all - the life of this boat;

all the same were the days, whatsoever


The boat is tired, its wood has all but rotten;

there are several leaks, it’s  bound to sink

The dreams of glory, all forgotten;

the end is near, it has reached the brink

But the boat rows on, for it has a purpose;

it’s destined to live on, it’s meant to serve

The heart is tired, exhausting is the circus;

no time to lay anchor, no sense to lose nerve

آؤ اب خود کو فراموش کر دیں

شکوے تو کبھی تھے

بہت کہہ چکے ہیں

وجہیں بھی بہت تھیں

بہت سن چکے ہیں

وہ تھا کہ نہیں تھا

بہت سوچ چکے ہیں

دل کا، انا کا

دم گھونٹ کر اب

دل کو، انا کو،

سیاہ پوش کر دیں

چلو اب خود کو

فراموش کردیں


Read more: آؤ اب خود کو فراموش کر دیں

رستے ہزاروں

بہت چل چکے ہیں

قبروں مزاروں

بہت پھر چکے ہیں

گم ہو چکی ہے

ہمت تھی جتنی

خاک ان رستوں کی

چھانی ہے اتنی

وہ سب خاک ایسے

ہوا دوش کر دیں

آؤ اب خود کو

فراموش کر دیں


بہت رہ لیا ہے

دن تھے وہ جتنے

بہت گن لیا ہے

طعنے تھے کتنے

راتیں بھی لمبی

گزاری ہیں جتنی

ماضی کے سب باب

سپرد آگ کر کے

سب طعنوں تشنعوں کو

خاموش کر دیں

آؤ اب خود کو

فراموش کر دیں


نا تھا کوئی اپنا

نا اپنا کوئی ہوگا

نا تھی کوئی چھاؤں

نا سایہ کوئی ہوگا

خوابوں کے پیچھے

وہ بھگڈر تھی جتنی

بیکار ضائع

خواہش کی جتنی

وہ سب خواب مٹی میں

روپوش کر دیں

آؤ اب خود کو

فراموش کر دیں


بہت رو لیا ہے

بہت ہنس لیا ہے

جدائی کا صدمہ

بہت سہ لیا ہے

لمحے تھے جتنے

مقدر میں لکھے

وہ لمحے مٹانے کا

وقت ہوگیا ہے

آؤ اب چپکے سے

خاموش ہو کر

آؤ اب خود کو

فراموش  کر دیں


#Urdu #poetry #poem #helplessness #sadness #uselessness #fate #effort #failure #love #desire #dream #imagination #end #life #death