February 27, 2012
Poem
On Seeing Bahadur Shah Zafar
The Last Mughal Emperor
1775 - 1862
The king is a subject—
A world
Reversed
Son of a pig—
A viceroy will take pleasure
In a king exposed
Bolstered on a charpoy—
Gaunt in white kurta;
Block-printed pajamas?
Long stem of a hookah—
A humid verandah
A garrison in Rangoon
Exiled—
O, Delhi,
The Red Fort
Yesterday –seems ages ago–
Court painters painted
His portrait for posterity
Slithers of their brush—
A halo “God’s Shadow”
Honorifics
Cross-legged regalia—
Woven gardens
Blooming beneath his feet
Subjects trembling—
In front of him as they had
In front of his father and his
The garden ravaged—
Zafar, a memory of his splendor
Restraint of his sigh, itself a sigh
Rafiq Kathwari is a Monday poet at 3Quarks Daily.
Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 12:35 AM | Permalink
Comments
"Lagta nahin hai dil meraa ujday dayaar mein..." Bahadur Shah Zaffar
"Babul mora naihar chhuto hi jaaye
Chaar kahar mil mori doliyan sajaayen..." Wajid Ali Shah
Delhi, Rangoon - Burma, Lucknow, Metiaburz - Calcutta ... 1856 - 1857, when the foot soldier knew better than the crowned heads.
Celebrate the poetry. Don't romanticize the mythical splendors of feckless, hapless, clueless leadership.
Posted by: Ruchira | Feb 28, 2012 12:37:05 AM
al-Mu'tamad, once a king of Spain, spent the rest of his life in prison, where he wrote,
"All things come to an end,
Even death itself dies the death of all things.
Destiny is chameleon-colored.
Its very essence is transformation."
Liked your use of "son of a pig"
Posted by: Saleem M | Feb 28, 2012 8:34:56 AM
Dear Rafiq,
That photo is of him in the Red Fort, after his capture but before his trial and exile. Not that it makes much difference!
yours with thanks for being the Monday Poet,
fran
Posted by: FP | Feb 28, 2012 8:37:25 AM
Fine Poem
Posted by: GJ | Feb 28, 2012 8:39:54 AM
Wonderful. So Evocative.
Posted by: ManjeetK | Feb 28, 2012 8:42:53 AM
Bravo!
Posted by: anneH | Feb 28, 2012 8:44:52 AM
Wonderful. So evocative
Posted by: ManjeetK | Feb 28, 2012 8:59:07 AM
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