they came
and put the landscape on fire
the tulips
of multitude of colors
a thousand hues
and then they withered
ash to ash
color to colorless
  *********
birds were told 
of the sanctions
the no fly zone
but birds have feathers and wings
they are not teflon coated
radar guided
they fly any where
in any direction
like the drones
but birds bring peace
where no no fly zones are required.  

1.man faqiro ,man faqiro,man faqir/naqde dil daram ba kaf az man bagir
2.uljhanon se har tarah azad hun/aap ki main zulfe pechan ka aseer
3.yeh andhere kis qadar bad bakht hain/jin ki qismat main nahi badre muneer
4.ek hi ho nam dil main moajzan/khairo shar main nuskhai zikre kaseer
5.ya Muhammad lutf farma, ya nabi/ya Muhammad ya bashiro ya nazir

will it so happen
that even after i am gone
sun will rise as before
and also set in as before
the breeze will move over the hills
the cloud will bring refreshing rains
the meadow will turn emerald green
upon the advent of spring
and wear a cloak of white
during the winter time
is it so and will it so happen
the birds will chirp
the butterflies dance
and the lilies sprout
roses bloom 
and little children play
hide and seek in the yard 
even after i am gone ?

one day 
i will also retire
to the hermitage
by the stream
and count beads
with shaking fingers
and aching bones

all warriors are back
safe and unbruised
welcome in to waiting arms
of a night's sleep
until another battle 
on the morrow
over the hill

silence has become eloquence 
stones have numerous lips
sounds dance upon the sands
tranquility rules the seas
passion is no language
spoken is eternal loss
un- spoken lies the treasure 
deep inside the cave

i will sing light
in this dark night
words of rays
will pierce the air
and sentences
will light up the sky
i will sing light
in this dark night
and all the mermaids will see
and hear my song
rise up on the surface
and the ocean will sing
and all the gazelles in the desert
will see my song on the sparkling sand
and run around the dunes
singing ghalib
to the large eyed dames
in their silken robes
and emerald headgears
i will sing light
in this dark night
and bear the consequences
of my dreams.

she looks the same
decades upon decades
have not changed any of her looks
i went to escort her home
one last time from her work
as i escorted her the first time
she went to work
nothing has changed in her poise
nothing has changed the way she walks
nothing has changed the way she talks
nothing has changed the way my heart
leaps at a look on her face
nothing has changed the way my soul
lights up at a touch of her hand.


****************
2 line poem

*******
the doctor said
you are fit for your age