Characters
And their stories
Their words
Creating worlds
The bride from
A distant province
With a silver nose-ring
Carrying her pack
Of hand embroidered clothes
Her emphatic drawl
With an engaging smile
Pushing her ware
With enchanting tales
The urban-bound
Conjures
A vast blue expanse
Where children
Build castles of sand
The froth kissing their feet
Floating paper-boats
In the mighty tide
Awaiting the mother’s return…
When the earthen idol
Would embrace the giant waves
Their mother would take
The return train
Home…
Autumn…Fall
And dusk …
The Mountain Man
Arrives with winter
Weighed down under shawls and woolens
That impeccable Urdu diction
Music to the ears
And soul…
Tall trees among lofty peaks
Quaint house-boats with wild flowers
Lazily drifting
In the sparkling waters
Warm kettles
By a fireside
Heaven…and hearth
Where decades ago
His forefathers
Had welcomed people
From far- away lands
With open arms
And warmth
Characters…their fragrance
Once so familiar
Stitched with seasons
And places…
Fossils now
Buried deep
Marking time
And years
And age
Characters…stories…
Of that epic
Called life…