Tag: verse

VERSE | NATIONAL (S)CARRIER

On By Mahvash K. M.In Foot in the Mouth, poetry, satire, verse, womenwriters, writing2 Comments

A bit of a funny ramble about my recent flight from Karachi to Lahore.

I travelled on a plane today 
And felt compelled to write 
This verse of my experiences 
On PIA’s domestic flight 

Let me start with a whinge
The seats have no leg room 
Even the petites are overcome 
By claustrophobia and doom

The stewards and the stewardesses 
Seem like they’ve just had enough 
Of meeting, greeting passengers 
Their demeanour is kind of rough 

But that’s ok, we’re a nation of
Tough minded women and men 
And there is a tad more softness
For the elderly and the children 

It was a daytime flight, post luncheon-time 
So folks had had their meals 
Some nodding off with gaping mouths
Others snoring with extra zeal 

The plane jerked forward and began 
To taxi on the concrete 
While the stalls held two or more
Full bladder emergencies 

Off we lifted off and then 
We climbed up to the clouds 
There was a bit of turbulence 
There were loud prayers from the devout 

As we levelled off the crew
Started on their inflight missions 
Soon the plane transformed into 
Zubaida’s Desi Kitchen

And of course everyone there 
Ate a second meal 
Food is integral to our 
National look and feel 

Soon the air was rent with 
Loud belches and with sighs
The pungent vapor wafting ‘tween
The seats and in the aisles 

An overhead bin flew open
With a painful, turgid groan  
A fit finale to the meal that had 
Endowed its own bloat 

The icing on the cake was
The toffees on the tray 
And our disembarkation
In a half-civilised way 

One prevented a stampede 
Of desperate humanity
One a choti meethi* offering 
For PIA’s eccentricity.
* Choti Meethi: :small and sweet” in Urdu

VERSE | DIFFERENT

On By Mahvash K. M.In poetry, truth, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
I met her on the internet
We had a little chat
For fifteen or twenty minutes 
It wasn’t more than that

The next day at 3pm
I saw my screen light up
There was a message waiting
She had not given up!

I smiled, nay beamed it was
Uplifting and sublime
That this lovely lass could one day
Be a real friend of mine

She had put up a photo 
In the app display online
I tended to opt for staid old men
Quoting their pithy lines

The weeks they turned into months 
She suggested finally
That we should meet up somewhere
For sandwiches and tea

I was torn, I was in two minds
To go or not to go
I had had some experience 
Of dejection and of woe

But she seemed different 
Grounded, honest and mature
So I bested my insecurities 
Of one score years and four

I walked in early and sat down
I ordered a latte
I waited looking at the door
And then I saw her face

Gleaming, hopeful, expectant
She glanced around the room
Our eyes met for a bit and then
She looked away confused

She lingered for a while before
She glided out of there
With my disillusionment and coffee 
I sat in my wheelchair.

VERSE | STILLNESS

On By Mahvash K. M.In poetry, serenity, verse, womenwriters, writing1 Comment 
There is a peace in solitude
It comes with a little practice
At first you miss the cacophony 
Of everyday distractions 

But the heart in time learns to grow still
You can almost see your breath
Weaving its vapory way out of
Your lungs in a silver thread 

Every inhale is deep and calm
You close your eyes each time
You feel your blood rush in your veins
You feel serene, you feel alive

Time slows down, each moment glides
Almost visibly away
But not before it wraps you 
In its visceral array

It is Now, and Now is all
There is for you to know
It’s in this time of solitude
That your calm and stillness grow.

VERSE | THE BRICK-FACED HOUSE

On By Mahvash K. M.In Joy, poetry, verse, womenwriters, writing4 Comments 
The morning glow touched its face
The brick-faced house in the street 
It stretched out in the morning rays 
Hide’n’seek with some it played 
Its favourite morning treat

In the bedroom facing the east 
I lay in sleep’s placid arms
The sun wore its morning beam 
As it shone into my dawn time dreams 
Oblivious of my late alarm 

The house shook out its paint and bricks
Its nooks and crannies too 
The mynah was already collecting twigs
To fix its nest, repair the rips
From last night’s stormy brew

The day wore on, the house filled up
With daytime smells and sounds
It shook and shimmered, belched and laughed
As it held us all in its matronly arms 
Safe in its blessed compound

Evening came and with it the skies
Turned a beautiful rosy pink 
T-41 too flushed with delight 
Its terracotta facade catching the light
As it watched the twilight sink

The resident crickets began to perform
Their night time symphony
The house sighed softly gathering its form
It seemed like tonight would bring another storm 
But inside its walls was warmth and sleep.

VERSE | SUNNY

On By Mahvash K. M.In Joy, poetry, verse, womenwriters, writing1 Comment 
The sun came round to play today
I’d left my smile in bed 
He streamed in through my window 
I looked at him with dread 

My thoughts were dark and cheerless  
As I came out of my room 
I stepped o’er a bar of golden light 
That threatened my clouds of gloom 

I then went to the kitchen 
The sun followed sweeping in 
Catching me in his glittering web
My tea and toast and everything 

Despite myself I smiled and then 
Through to the lounge I went 
But I sat in the darkest corner which 
His brightness couldn’t rent 

But by and by a square of light 
Tiptoed up to my shin 
Shimmering motes broke into dance 
Pirouetting onto my skin 

I grinned and turned my face towards 
The joyfulness of the sun
He wrapped me gently in his arms
Warming me from the outside in 

The sun came round to play with me  
My spirit was edged with grey 
But he kept beaming, shining on 
Until he’d chased the clouds away.

VERSE | REMINISCENCE

On By Mahvash K. M.In poetry, serenity, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
You said to look for you in blooms
The most vibrant that adorned 
The sunny yellow Amalthas 
As it stood verdant in the lawn 

I chose a bower in my mind 
It was you whispering to me 
Everytime a drizzle fell 
Or when she murmured in the breeze

But then came fall and with it all
The flowers began to drop
I held my breath as I watched 
But you stayed shimmering on 

You wore your golden yellows 
Dancing in your green abode 
But then nature came calling your name
You were the last to free your hold 

You whispered softly one last time 
As you let go of the tree 
I watched but did not linger, I
Imagined you somewhere roaming free 

But in my heart I’ve always known
You’ve shredded up your form 
With all your love and courage 
Back into the earth you’ve gone 

You said that I should look for you 
In the things that make me smile 
I see you now in leaves and flowers
In the rain and the fireflies.
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VERSE | JOY

On By Mahvash K. M.In Joy, poetry, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
When morning shakes out her dress
Of blue and gold and green 
I hope that you can smile at her
Beauty as she preens

I hope that you’ve fulfilled some things 
That you’d planned out for the day 
As noon time jogs along your path 
In his radiant array 

As the tender blush of evening
Bids farewell to the sun 
I hope you found joy in the tasks
That needed to get done 

When at last night drops her cloak
Around the world and you 
I hope that in your heart there’s peace 
And the spirit to start anew 

When morning sings her new-day song
And wafts in once again  
I hope that you will dance with her 
Heart to heart and hand in hand.

VERSE | TEA FOR TWO

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, Joy, poetry, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
It was two for tea and tea for two
Both meeting after a decade or two 
Friends of old, kins of the heart 
Separated by time and circumstance 
Chatter and laugh over tea for two 

Tea for two and two for tea 
Neighbours for a year, kindred souls for twenty-three
They’d seen each other through thick and thin 
Loving Kintsugi* mending walls where they’d grown thin
Catch up over two for tea

It was two for tea and tea for two
From working together their friendship grew
They had rejoiced in one another’s highs 
And had held each other’s hands in trying times 
Rendezvous over tea for two

Tea for two and two for tea
The sister and the brother sit quietly
The coolness of bruised hearts lies around 
The air is rent with empty sounds
As they try to build bridges over two for tea

It is usually two for tea and tea for two
That brings hearts together, both the sunny and the blue 
Loving ones forge more joyful memories 
Aching ones for a while find some peace
When they come together over tea for two.
* Kintsugi: The Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art.

VERSE | HEALING

On By Mahvash K. M.In poetry, serenity, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
She looks down at the empty page 
Something is on her mind 
A plot, a verse for better or worse 
For the rest, a pithy line 

But nothing stirs into rank and file 
For her to string together 
The words and phrases spin like crazy 
She just can’t find the tether 

“I looked at him in puzzlement…”
No today she couldn’t go there 
“She sat serene and beautiful
With a magnolia in her hair…”

She felt herself choke a little 
She couldn’t walk there either 
In sepia-toned dreams is where
She felt happiest seeing her 

A cup of tea, a pastry 
That sublime combination
Surely she could muster up 
Something for that occasion 

But her thoughts were far away 
They were looking at something else 
The woman poised upon her page 
Needed healing herself 

So they had set up a little storm 
In the space of her tearing mind 
Whirling, swirling round and round 
Until the pain was left behind 

Then to her blue-stung heart they went 
To gently numb the precious space
Odes to life’s ripple and swell 
Could wait for another day.

VERSE | CRESCENT MOON

On By Mahvash K. M.In Joy, poetry, serenity, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
The crescent moon shone overhead 
She wore a tilted smile 
I looked at her and asked wherefore 
She smiled so, was she shy?

Convinced that in her timid state 
She hadn’t heard my query 
As she perched in her cosmic grove 
Smiling lopsidedly 

So I cupped my hands around my mouth 
The lady was full of guile 
“O Crescent moon, you nighttime boon 
Give the world a real smile!”

She seemed to laugh and hid herself 
In some gossamer clouds nearby 
But her glowing curve still favored
The right side of the sky 

I watched her play hide and seek 
Showing a bit of her askew smile 
Floating, gliding through the clouds 
I was enchanted, mesmerized 

I turned away, this sensory play 
Called for a brew of tea 
Mug in hand, when I looked again 
She was beaming cheek to cheek.

VERSE | KNOWING

On By Mahvash K. M.In hope, poetry, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
For every smile upon your lips 
A million more have beamed 
On happy faces old and young 
With joyfulness they’ve gleamed 

For every tear that you have spilt 
When sadness cleaved the air 
Countless others have also grieved 
From the depths of their despair 

When You have laughed with tears of joy 
Right from your belly out 
There have been a billion others 
Who’ve chortled in delight 

So live completely sit with both 
Your joy and with your pain 
The energy that thrums in you 
Flows in everyone the same 

For every smile that’s on your lips
For every tear that falls
Someone somewhere feels the same  
Someone is sharing it all.
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VERSE | METAMORPHOSIS

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

This is for all those who have survived emotionally, mentally and physically abusive relationships. For those who have discovered the precious blessing of sleeping deeply, peacefully without being haunted by crippling anxiety and the renewed torture that every new day would inevitably bring in its wake.

I look at him 
Threatening, raging 
Berating me
The cruel words sidling in 
Between his verbal pounding  
I recognise, I see
His enterprise 
To humiliate me 
To agitate, to fluster me
To intimidate
To paralyze me.
I’m going to leave you 
One of these days 
If you tell 
Anyone anywhere 
About any of this 
I swear 
I will make you into the beast
The one unfit 
The one tearing down this relationship 

I look at him 
Frozen in place 
My heart still 
I’m incapable 
Of seeing beyond 
My fear
I’m incapable 
Of seeing anything 
Beyond the terrifying sacredness 
Of the union 
We signed together
I’m incapable
I’m powerless
I’m numb 
All I hear is a hum
A white noise in my head 
Autonomous, involuntary 
Humming humming humming 
Preserving my sanity 
Maybe my life … 

And then one day 
He followed through 
On all the threats 
That he had let loose
Into the fabric 
Of our togetherness 
I’m  l e a v i n g  y o u
He said, emotionless 
This time there was no 
Placating hum
No cloaking thrum
Inside of me 
Hiding me, shrouding me 
I looked at him 
Cold sweat gripping 
My face, my neck 
The insides of my thighs
Dripping, dripping endlessly  
But my mouth was parched 
My lips were dry 
I felt like I was going to die 

But I didn’t crumble
In the wind 
Whirling in the murky 
Depths of things 
I survived 
I stayed alive 
That shared horizon 
Spilling blood 
Dirty linen streaked with mud
Was washed into the sea 
Decaying into infinity 
A whole new realm had suddenly 
Stretched out in front of me 
Full of peace and gratefulness
Gladness and serenity 
Where I was calm and I was whole
I had my body and my soul
There was no fear
No agony 
No trauma filled spaces 
Beckoning me

Like Kafka’s Metamorphosis*
In reverse 
I have broken through the curse 
No more thrashing, crashing heart 
Petrified and frozen limbs 
No more grim hellishness
Of emotional poison stings
Making me cry, making me cringe 
I’m still here. I’m here still 
My lungs now take in their fill 
My heart is beating rhythmically 
No suffocating anxiety
Once more I hold the hand of the child 
That has lived in my soul all this while 
For her 
Nothing is impossible.
* KAFKA’S METAMORPHOSIS: 
Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915 and is considered one of his best works. The main themes revolve around the burden of responsibility, isolation and alienation, and sacrifice.