Know Me
I am an ocean that bears all bitter experiences,
I am a brook that keeps flowing forward in spite of all hindrances.
I am a candle that burns to light the surroundings,
I am a cuckoo that on seeing summer in everyone’s garden sings.
I am a vernal breeze that at dawn wakes up flowers,
I am a star that until extinction brightens the dark hours.
In all men such traits must be,
In them are the realities of life and humanity.
***
What Shall I Call You?
What shall I call you, my dears?
You are beautiful and ambrosial flowers
Your redolence I smell everywhere I go
Your presence is not there though.
You are the stars that in the sky I see,
Twinkling in the dark nights gladdening me.
You sing in a sweet voice like a canary,
Utterly captivating! Every time my grieved heart yearns to listen to thee.
You are the brooks, attractively chattering,
When you chortle,
Though I am vexed, I laugh well.
You are the glowworms that in the dark hours glow
Seeing you, I feel happy and I childishly follow.
You are the healthy seeds; you can grow fruitfully
When sown in the favourable environment carefully
You are diamonds, precious and rare
Lest you lose such qualities,
Of you I should take care.
***
Passion
When we have passion, we don’t stay
We work hard night and day.
We play our best role
To achieve our desired goal.
We gather courage and let go off fear,
All the difficulties we bravely bear,
Though we are in pain and are tired
We keep on moving forward.
We swim across the seas and climb the mountains
Though it is unbearably hot or cold or it heavily rains.
We don’t return, but ahead we go
Though the strong winds blow.
Though we are hungry and thirsty,
We move forward patiently.
We move across thorns that come on our way
We never step back but move forward night and day.
It’s the passion that helps us win our race
Though many difficulties we face.
So, until passion in us plays its role
We can’t achieve our desired goal.
***
[Shafkat Aziz Hajam is a children’s poet from Handwara Village, Kupwara, Kashmir. He is the author of two children’s poetry books that mostly give a religious touch. The books are titled The Cuckoo’s Voice and The Canary’s Voice. He is also a private school teacher, working in a secondary school. He can be reached at Shafkataziz399@gmail.com.]
