A grief without a pang, void, dark, and drear,
A stifled, drowsy, unimpassioned grief,
Which finds no natural outlet, no relief,
In word, or sigh, or tear—
O Lady! in this wan and heartless mood,
To other thoughts by yonder throstle woo’d,
All this long eve, so balmy and serene,
Have I been gazing on the western sky,
And its peculiar tint of yellow green;
***
Excerpted from Dejection: An Ode by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
By Abid Agha
A warm cup of coffee
Holding firm in my hand
Absorbing its warmth.
Taking slowly, sip by sip.
Suddenly, puffs of dark clouds appear
In front of my eyes
Start hiding the chains of Margalla Hills
Rain drops swing with scented cool breeze
Twisting on my head with ease
All is around sans you.
By Amna Ameer
I froze
Mid sentence
With my heart in constraint
The size of a fist they say?
It felt like it was plagued
With its tight hold
With no air to breathe
Or blood to pump
I just was stunned
Out of breath
Out of control
Away from all logic
No tangible being
All the moods
Were colours
Spread in the sky
And my screams
Seared through
Like an arrow
Without a bullseye
And they landed
On my corpse
Over and over again
Yet there was no sign of life
No reason to prove
Something that is a lie
So I was compromised
I think so now
I was never meant
To own my skin
My days were always
Borrowed
They belonged to someone else
And I was just a puppet
Playing someone else’s cues
Following footsteps
To death
And finding meaning
Behind what’s subdued
So I was speechless
When they extended
My term
I was supposed to be free
Yet here I am
Tied by shackles
Of expectations
To keep bonds
That are already forsaken
And then give a breath
To the dead
And live as something
Worthwhile
When all my responses
Are only to trauma
And all my languages
Have been translated
To those of a prolonged
Struggle to survive
I have become
The disorder
An idiosyncratic answer
To an ongoing
Manslaughter
Of my mind
By Mehreen Shams
As some haunting words snore
I follow
Faded footprints beside seashore
I allow
Angry waves to knock at my door
Do you, still, want to explore?
Compiled by SK
