The Poem: Kashmir

It touched me on the banks of the destitute lake and then again, on that river of wrath.

The eerie wind of conflict consumed me: when last did I cry.

( Moonis Ali )

Where funerals, consignment of the beloved to the grave has become a norm.

Wailings of the parents tremble me; I scorn, flout the tyranny, crave to be free: when last did I cry.

( Ishfaq Rashid )

Some have forgotten our history, few care to remember those who died fighting.

Some will return home back while others we will never see: when last did I cry.

( Azhar Imtiyaz )

All precious things we lost on our way.

What we gathered in the sun, is now buried under the tree. When last did I cry.

( Hashim Bashir )

In the land of saints, I wait for you like a Sufi.

Tears from my eyes, my voiceless screams, are not lost completely. When last did I cry.

( Hashim Bashir )

My boat drowned in the dry, inch by inch slowly. When last did I cry.

As Niobe looses her mind, she asks me: When last did I cry?

( M Hussain )

Deprived of eyes, my heart will shriek everytime my soul blinks.

Alas! they blinded me not my faith that ignites me: when last did I cry?

( Moonis Ali )

A small child caught in the abbatoir of justice fancies a dream of peace.

What shall mother sing to lull him for tranquility. When last did I cry?

( Mir Haseeb )

Not Far away from the eyes of the world, we continue to suffer and die silently.

All the blood spilled fills the vale like the red sea: when last did I cry.

( Fayyaz Ganaie )

As the soldiers march past the Chinar in the town square,

The trees wail, shedding their leaves untimely: When last did I cry?

( Tawqeer Nasir )