Category: hope

VERSE | GRIT

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment

For all the women and the men supporting them; for all those who get up every morning and despite all odds make it through the day surviving, shining, rising. For the friends and families of Sara, Mahsa, Noor, Qurat Ul Ain and of the countless nameless others like them: your grit is everything.

When it’s been tormenting
Day after day. With no respite
And I just don’t have it in me to fight 
To battle on 
When I’m war-weary 
When there is no end in sight 
And all I want to do 
Is sit in a dark room 
And let its coolness shroud me 
Until I can feel the hair
Stand on my skin. There 
Is suddenly more to the day
Than the heaviness in my heart 
And the endlessness of the grey
That has been flowing, gripping choking me 
Keeping me doubled down on my knees 
There’s more beyond that malevolent mien
Images, memories driving me insane

Now - 

Now there is also something 
On the outside of me 
A little chill 
A little photo on the window sill 
Both pull at me in different ways 
One makes icicles 
To sear through 
The magma that has congealed 
Inside of me 
The other makes my blood flow warm 
Streaming, coursing through my veins 
Reminding me that I’m not alone 
My spirit and my fortitude 
Still cloak my shoulders 
Strong and true 
I sit up straight 
As they reverberate 
Through every atom of my being 
And they chant 
An age old song 
Of others like me 
Who’ve fought on
Their hearts fused forever 
With the loved ones they’ve lost
And I know 
That I’m not wielding my sword alone
Featured

VERSE | FALL FAREWELLS

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, serenity, verse, writing2 Comments 
A melancholy rustle stirs in the leaves
Holding heavy in their boughs
Their green, green garbs have faded
They are in mourning now

For the bounties once bestowed on them
By spring and then by summer 
Now they curl their mottled frames 
In the briskness of November 

Lady Autumn has this special
Cleansing Ritual that she wields 
Back into the earth they go 
Flowers, butterflies and leaves
 
The promise of new beginnings too
Is buried with their shapes 
For when spring comes round again 
For when again they will all wake

The leaves are weary as they cling 
To seasons that have gone 
But soon they too will hear her sing
The soothing song of Fall.
Featured

VERSE | UNTIL THEN

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, writingLeave a comment 
He looked at me with eyes of love 
I could not hold his gaze 
My heart lay closed and tightly bound 
In yards of purple lace 

It once had soared high above 
Where eagles roam the skies 
But since then it had plummeted 
It had shrivelled up and dried

By and by it beat again 
As I slowly found my peace 
But it still liked to hide away 
In its blue-violet niche 

So when he looked at me with eyes 
That spoke of tender starts 
I looked away, there was no way
Into my blue-bruised heart 

Someday when the colours change 
Of the blood that flows within 
Of when my heart reddens anew
And once more soars and sings

I hope that I can hold that gaze 
So full of affection 
Until then I hope to heal enough
To want to love again

VERSE | WOULD I BE READY?

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, writingLeave a comment 
I sometimes wonder if I heard
A new rustle in the trees
Would I be brave enough 
To open up my door and see

I wonder if I ever heard 
Its tread outside my place 
Would I be calm and ready
To meet it face to face 

I might sit still holding my breath 
This would be something new 
But it is all eventual 
It’s what we all go through 

If it looked at me and held 
Out its hoary palm 
I wonder if I’d have courage enough
To clasp it in my own 

If it stood to lead ahead
Waiting for my cue 
I wonder if I would follow it
Into the cosmic blue 

If indeed it came to me
While I was fast asleep 
I wonder if I would float away
On wings of final dreams

And so I hope that when I hear 
My name called to depart 
That in serenity and grace I walk 
The all-eternal path

VERSE | ALIVE

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, womenwriters, writing3 Comments 
I sit with the sweet pain 
Of remonstrating muscles 
Aching tendons 
It’s been a good day 
I’ve clocked my vital number
Of steps again 
Day Eight. Eight days. Day Eight
Of doing my best 
The precious little victories  
Sit like shiny safety pins 
In my body. Their lancing points 
Glimmering. Abrading. Wounding 
Forcing tiny trickles of red-hot plasma
To run outside my veins 
In the sweet agony of pain 
Reminding me that I’m still alive
I’m still surviving, still striving
Still clocking all the steps 
That keep this life ongoing
Going on. Ongoing. Going on 
I breathe in deeply. Tonight 
I am serene, there will be no dreams 
To torture or torment me. Tonight 
In Sleep’s benumbing arms
I will lay down my head
I breathe out, uncoil, soft-ache-bound
As I sink into the swelling seams of my bed.

VERSE | ALONE, JAWAB-E-SHIKWA*

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, writing3 Comments 
I laugh unabashedly, from the belly out 
Someone has said something absurd
They all watch me in derision and doubt
This woman who shouldn’t be seen or heard
She speaks! What social license does she bear?
She’s no debutante, she’s no political heir
Yet she comes to these exclusive soirées 
And instead of blurring, fading away 
Into the background, this upstart lets down her hair 

I walk out gaily, dressed like a queen
I bump into my neighbour, the virulent Sameen
Her face already garbed in a smug smile
She says “Where to Maha? So dressed to kill?”
I laugh loudly, her smile falters a bit
“Just to the market, to get some things 
A shirt from Sapphire, two thootis* of kheer*
A tub of it’s-none-of-your-business-my-dear
Is there something you would like me to bring?

I’ve been alone these twenty five years 
But I’ve never been lonely, I decided that early
I surmounted my doubts conquered my fears
It wasn’t easy, it took a few years
It took some lonesomeness, some vanishing acts
From folks I called friends and even family who cracked
Under the pressure of seeing me break out
Of the box built for me by the socially devout 
But I dug in my heels, I wasn’t going back 

Now there are friends and well wishers anew
In all that chaff, I found these gems too
They give me hope, they let me be me
It’s been food for my soul, this honesty
I know who I am and who I want to be
And it’s not a reflection of what society
Has plotted and planned for someone that swerves
Through fate or design, outside its bell curve 
I’m contented, eccentric and oh so happy!
* Jawab-e-Shikwa: “Shikwa” (Complaint in Urdu) and “Jawab-e-Shikwa” (Response to Complaint) are poems written by the poet Mohammad Iqbal. They are known for their lyrical beauty and depth of thought

* Thooti: a small clay saucer in which some Pakistani and Indian desserts are sold in order to keep them cool and fresh

* Kheer: rice pudding in Urdu

VERSE | A HEARTACHE SHARED

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, writingLeave a comment 
She looks at me hesitantly 
There is something on her mind
I feel her turmoil, her anxiety
But I’m also aware of the impropriety 
Of looking straight into her soul 
Uninvited, I can’t make bold
Enough to let her know
That I know that something is not right

She looks away, I continue to read
The label on the jar of cream in my hands
Luxury Hand Lotion it says
Lilac and English lavender
I am acutely aware of her disquietude 
Intensely, minutely even as I
Focus on the object I cannot put down …
She finally speaks to me with her eyes

Have you ever felt unlike yourself?
Like it was not you who was experiencing 
The pain … the loss … the tragedy …
Like you were on the outside, just watching?
The jar of cream breaks free from the spell
As I face her with all of my being
It now sits on the table flat and still
As I look at her, letting my heart speak

I know, dearest one … I can feel your hurt
Talk to me, or don’t talk at all
Let it all out or just set it free
In the secret spaces of your soul
Listen to your grief, speak to it too
Until the throb recedes a notch or two
Then let me in, let me hold you close
Let me share your pain as I sit with you

VERSE | SHE WAITS

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, writing2 Comments 
The mynah came to my window today 
She warbled a happy song 
She bobbed her head, waiting to be fed 
And her little mate trilled along 

The man on the street looked at me 
As I plied my usual route 
He didn’t beg, but his eyes said 
I’d be grateful for some food

The server brought my coffee and smiled 
His eyes were big and bright 
He had good news, to share with those 
Who would talk to him a while

The little child came out to the porch 
Holding her favourite doll 
There she sat, for her beloved Dad 
For when up the path he’d walk 

The earth embraces our right and wrong faces  
Holding every atom together 
For when we’d awake and for our own sake 
We would ease her burden a feather  

The mynahs were fed and off they went 
The man on the street did the same 
The server smiled, a Dad hugged his child 
But Earth, she looks on and waits

VERSE | I’M STUCK

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, writingLeave a comment 
I’m stuck in a rut 
One hand and one foot 
The other two grappling 
For something to hold 

I’m stuck in a hole 
Body and soul 
The claustrophobia
Is taking its toll

I’m caught in a pickle 
Peace of mind is fickle
The lid is closed tight 
There’s no room to wiggle

I’m caught in a quandary 
Like heaps of soiled laundry 
That sits just like Jabba
The Hutt*, gross and tawdry

I’m stuck in a rut 
And a hole too it seems 
I’m caught in a pickle 
And an unhappy quandary 

But they still haven’t swallowed 
Me whole and then followed 
With acid dessert 
Like a tree that’s been hollowed

I’m stuck in a hole 
But I’m still holding on 
In the eye of the storm 
To courage and hope

* Jabba the Hutt: A Star Wars character who was slug-like alien and would ultimately fall victim to his own hubris and vengeful ways.

VERSE | ROOTED

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, writingLeave a comment 
The lotus flower blooms in hues
Of lovely pinks and whites
It stands tall in the muddy pond
Resplendent and upright

Even when its watery abode 
Goes from murky to bone dry
The lotus flower, it endures
The adversity and stays alive

It blooms in beauty and in grace
While its roots take all the strain
Bravely going from day to day
Through sunshine and through rain

We human beings are quite a lot
Like the stalwart lotus flower
Buffeted by all kinds of winds
We still find our super powers 

Our bodies and our spirits may be
Trampled by pain and strife
But we hold on, roots and all
We persist and we survive

And so it is that even in 
Our darkest, joyless hours
The lotus in our throbbing hearts
Renews, continues to flower.
Featured

VERSE | NO THANK YOU

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, writing2 Comments 
“I love you and only you
You fill my heart in every way
I will be but a shell if you
Call it quits and leave me some day”
Said the man with the twisted lips
As he held her close, hands on her hips
He’d done this a lot and then changed gears
The words felt absurd even to his own ears.

She looked into eyes that were gleaming with fire
Was it hope, was it love, was it lustful desire?
The three entities then followed behind 
As she walked into the space of her heart and her mind
There she sat them down, the judicious sleuth
And looked into their faces now lit up with truth 
Hope sat there wilted, there was hardly a trace
Of sincerity and faith on its mottled face
Love was like a wraith of its radiant self
Like old dust that had drifted off of the shelf 
Smouldering away in the furthest corner
With sly little tentacles sat covetous Desire 
It looked at her trying to hide its true hues
But in the light of the soul that was hard to do

She lifted the heavy hands from her hips
Bestowed a smile from her beautiful lips 
“I suppose I should say a heartfelt thank you
But I won’t, those words, they just don’t ring true”.

VERSE | RISE

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, kidlit, Kidsbooks, poetry, verse, writing1 Comment 
There was once a blade of grass
Shining an emerald green 
It swished it’s bright little head 
In the gently flowing breeze 

The other plants stood tall and proud 
They seemed miles away 
The little blade grew in its glade 
In the warmth of sunny days 

One day a big machine rolled in
With a mighty roar of a sound
It scooped up all the twigs and leaves
Scattered on the ground 

Then it gathered everything 
Dead branches, wilted flowers 
And slowly groaned away crushing 
Down the blade of grass

It lay upon its side a while 
The breath knocked out of it
But then quite miraculously 
It straightened up again 

It wiped away the beads of sap
That the trampler had wrung out
It took three long steadying breaths 
And then bobbed its head about 

And so it is with life sometimes 
She seems to come down hard 
That’s our cue to stop and rest 
Breathe in and move onwards