See how they scream murder, in your name
and underscore every border, in your name.
Where bridges stood between people and places
lie heaps of rubble – a fallen girder, in your name.
Being one is all a joke, they yell and shout
hate is now an act of ardour, in your name.
In another avatar, your leela of love we witnessed
now war-cries not love songs heard, in your name.
Beautiful colours from the sunset soak temple and mosque
blood, tears and rage stored in time’s larder, in your name.
So good Charumathi!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great use of the ghazal for the purposes of protest and critique! I did have one question about your qaafiya though: is the second line of the fourth sher supposed to be "now war-cries not love songs are heard, in your name"? I could be wrong, but "are heard" sounds closer to the qaafiya you've used than just "heard".
ReplyDeleteThank you Sameer. Yes, it should be "are heard".. Hmm mulling over making the change - was obsessing over the line lengths being the same :-)
Deleteagree with Sameer. The genre and its content. You should add the name in the last line though.
ReplyDeleteI have been using the word "Beautiful" in the last verse as the first part of my name means that.. May revisit this.. trying it for the last few ghazals I have been writing
ReplyDeleteThank you Giti :-)