Poetry collection of heartbreak and grief

By Ibne Ahmad
June 09, 2024
A representational image shows Urdu text written in a book. — Unsplash/File

Taveel Raat written by Shamyay Mahboob is a poetry collection of heartbreak and grief that touch every soul at least once in a lifetime, and the poet translates those raw emotions into words. It is powerfully emotive poetry, exploring deep, dark, and hauntingly beautiful love.

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All of the book’s verses seem skilfully woven together to reveal fragments of thoughts and feelings that seem almost to belong to the lover as years of painful longing condensed into the environment of a long night. The poems convey the initial feelings of shock and loss when a relationship with a loved one ends. As the poetry descends into an emotional downward spiral, the book portrays emptiness, jealousy, sorrow, and despair. The poems conclude that even though a relationship can be fated to end tragically, the memories gained are, in their way, treasured gifts that will last a lifetime.

A book for anyone who has found himself or herself separated from someone he/she loves no matter the circumstance. ‘Taveel Raat’ is a companion for the broken heart on the painful emotional journey of losing someone you love. Poems are solid and attention-grabbing showing that Shamyay Mahboob is very skilled in her craft. Her work touches on relatable topics and emotions in her own unique and eloquent way. This beautiful and very poignant collection resonated with me and exceeded my already high expectations.

It is true that no one person will ever understand every part of another’s grief but, as humans, we all love, lose, and grieve. The emotion unites all of us. These poems serve as a light to move toward, as a hand to hold along the way, and as a glance back at how far we have come and how strong we are.

‘Taveel Raat’ is both a light and a disturbing read; the flow and the beauty of the words would interest you, but also hit you and make you think deeply. I enjoyed reading it and I think you will too. This poetry collection will lift your spirits, keep you going when times get tough, and remind you of the inherent inner strength you already have within you.

The poems in the book comprise a single lifeline. The reader follows an amalgam of the poet from the passionate intensity of youth, through the regrets and satisfactions of adulthood and middle age, and into the reflective wisdom of old age. All the poems are about love in a dizzying array of colours, shapes, and sizes in the separation night. Deep, enduring love, unrequited love, passionate love, violent love. Here are odes and lyric ecstasies, outbursts, and irritabilities, all delivered with the enthusiasm and intellect of the poet. It is an unforgettable journey into the long night of love.

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