Lullaby For Lost Generations
All rivers of taste have dried up
Only sands boil in pans
Tyranny of migration has struck the towns
Birds have forsaken their nests.
Judgements descend from heavens
So it is said in books, testaments
Secrets of hearts are culpable offences
It's crime to feed at mother's breast.
''He had gone to buy a feeder
Before curfew time;
Hasn't come back.''
Kids, go to sleep
Stories, written on waters
Are narrated by winds to sails
Of sinking ships, of men in submarines
The oceans in their eyes were dry at parting
Yes, the sands of journey
Had marked all pores of the body
'' Keep Quiet ''.
Whole life-spans pass awake from sleep
A single frozen moment is difficult to pass.
The sun at the roof's height comes and goes
Come, give a call to those
Who had heard Israfael's bugle
And gone to eternal sleep on the battle front.
Their children remain awake.
(Translated from the original Urdu into English by Dr. Satyapal Anand)
It is nice to read one of your poems after a long time sir, as always you offer great wisdom to the reader and always give a universal message. It is nice to see you using poetry as a medium to carry out your voice to the world. Nice... (ha haaa, havent seen you around lately, hope you are doing well)
Very well put together these words and mankind just repeats its self in self distruction..And gone to eternal sleep on the battle front...and children lay flowers, feelings poem regards
Such an apt title and the sad reality of your words really wrench my heart with pity for all that I have read. The stanza that affected me most 'he has gone to buy a feeder before curfew time; hasn't come back.' Humanity is losing the plot and thank you for this informative and wise poem.
Life's journey always changed by external thoughts, nothing stays the same, our body ages, the world changes and yet the witness to it all remains the same. Beautiful as always Naseer
A very worthy call to try and wake up humanity!
excellent Lullaby... very nice and thought provoking. i liked the line stories written on waters are narrated by winds to sails. very significant.
so sad and so very beautifully expressed. Thank you Naseer.
A beautiful poem - a call to humanity not to destroy the earth......
Like Paddy said, we are in the minority, but spreading the poetry like this would make more people think over the state of our world and probably act for the better future of next generations.Great message here, Naseer.