Thursday, January 6, 2011

Once Upon a Poem

Ever since I was a child, I would go to the terrace of my house in Lahore during the evening or night sometimes to relax, read a book, or write poetry to clear my mind. There has always been something about the night time sky with it's bright stars that has appealed to me. It just reassures me for no particular reason. There is something very calming about the sky's vastness with the intense brilliance of stars that are splattered across like paint drops on a navy blue canvas.

I have always loved writing poetry, and I still have many of my first pieces of poetry which I wrote as a young child, which back then were published in the children's magazine 'Young Nation'. Today I came across an old poem of mine which I wrote quite a few years back, around 2005 I think. I still remember the evening I wrote this. I was lounging around the terrace as always. The view from the terrace is such that you can see the lawn and the trees outside as well. And somehow it was such a gorgeous evening in Lahore, you know those evening when the sky gets lost in an array of so many brilliant colors that you have difficulty pin pointing which particular color it is for a moment. So I ran inside, grabbed a pen and paper, and penned down whats below. I later submitted it to a poetry competition and it was published in an international book of poetry. The latest version of the book came out in 2009, hence the link containing my poem shows copyright 2009. http://www.poetry.com/poems/dark-beauty/4586315/




I look above as the clouds move swiftly to cover the orange sun,
Birds quickly fly to their nests and animals to their homes run.
So beautiful is the sight, so tranquil and serene,
The sky forming an orange hue and the clouds a stormish scene.
The trees grow tall and mysterious,yet their leaves and flowers dance,
In the gentle evening wind which shakes the trees still trance.
Indeed a strange picture it paints...to yellow the orange sky fades,
Purple,red,blue,yellow,it's a mixture of varied shades.
Then slowly the moment comes when I see the silver moon,
& amazingly the setting sun is also visible before it disappears soon.
One indeed has to marvel the glory of this time,
when the moon starts to glow and the sun ceases to shine.
Leaving in my mind an image of it all,
Causing me to smile when later these images I pleasantly recall.


7 comments:

  1. you know what awesome about the poem? i can picture it, and it reminds me of lying on my rocking sofa type thing on the terrace at night watching the trees sway (after a few beers) and thinking for what might have been the last time that there might just be a god after all

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  2. Thanks guys for your kind comments!

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  3. The difference between real and dream is the actual equation between imaginative and creative mind. Having one of them can either make you an artist or a scientist, which brings controversies of one and contradictions of another. Having none of them is the real peace that is also why ignorance is bliss. However, the real nirvana is losing your way among them, by living the ultimate pleasure of not knowing what is real and what is unreal. Considering both of them under control is real delusion and causes a serious misconception under a fatal confusion.

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  4. I love your comment Vur (Sorrow). So abstract yet so insightful. And so nice of you to drop by my blog. Always a pleasure to hear from an old Cardiff university batch mate =)

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  5. Thank you very much Amna. You have a very strong style of depiction. I hope you will have chance to write more often.

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  6. Thanks Vur. I definitely plan to write and keep this blog updated =)

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