December 05, 2011
Poem
STARTING MY DESCENT
After a bomb rips the baggage claim
I sprout wings running on the tarmac.
Single file khakis blurring smashed
Gold of mustard flowers. My legs
Collapse. I roar over tips of Poplars, follow
The Jhelum upstream where Mother
Kneeling at the river’s source tears open
A pomegranate with bare hands. “Rubies
From my dowry stolen by the in-laws.”
Her dupatta undulates and she floats away
Reclined on the veil. I give chase, soaring
Above the Himalayas, depression fuming
The Pacific. I am the pallor of twilight
Starting my descent. A sign rises to greet me—
Gilded Cage For the Deranged.
“Wait,” a nurse says as I search for Mother,
“Why aren’t you already where you’re going?”
by Rafiq Kathwari, a guest writer at 3 Quarks Daily.
Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 12:30 AM | Permalink
Comments
Nice. Wonderful last line.
Posted by: Jim | Dec 5, 2011 7:11:44 AM
Terrific, but I knew before I opened it it would be. Would I expect anything less?
Posted by: Anne | Dec 5, 2011 12:50:12 PM
I love the metaphors! Very deep and tragic. Great poem!
Posted by: Tamara Kathwari | Dec 5, 2011 2:10:23 PM
Rafiq, this is sensual and spiritual beauty at its best. Such pathos, longing, desire for what is after all ephemeral, a desire to connect with love at its most profound...chased by demons of violence, personal, political...how the are forever entwined...i am swept away by the rivers of your thought....
Posted by: fawzia afzal-khan | Dec 5, 2011 4:28:33 PM
Thank you for using poetry to show how the madness stalks everyone
Posted by: Justine | Dec 6, 2011 7:35:16 AM
A masterpiece.....great work
hats off sir!
Posted by: iqram | Dec 6, 2011 7:55:02 AM
Another great one, Rafiq...beautiful images, conveying so much emotion in so few words
Posted by: Alice | Dec 6, 2011 2:09:31 PM
Great, as always.
Posted by: Rafique A Khan | Dec 11, 2011 5:01:40 PM
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