The Moon Rises, Untainted

~ a poem for these our days ~

Translated from Urdu original into English by Author

‘Moon over Kandy, Sri Lanka’ acrylic on canvas by Author

Tell me,

How many candles must burn

To call forth a golden moon?

How many lost dreams,

Broken, incomplete,

Must eclipse the moon

To reflect your sorrow?

For once tainted,

Moonglow is radiant no more.

Do you know

What the coming night holds?

Darkness today,

Tomorrow joy.

Yet again,

Jubilant revelers,

vibrant and triumphant,

Will deliver a conflagration.

And raise a glass to vanities

Of ballad and song as I cower

Cup in hand in a corner

And search for my soul’s cadences

In rise and fall of music of others…

But

Within the heart of darkness

When all birds flap away home

And what if they forget to return,