POETS’ CORNER

Poems forever

Over hill, over dale - from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

A wood near Athens. A Fairy speaks.

Over hill, over dale,

Thorough bush, thorough brier,

Over park, over pale,

Thorough flood, thorough fire

I do wander everywhere,

Swifter than the moon’s sphere;

And I serve the fairy queen,

To dew her orbs upon the green:

The cowslips tall her pensioners be;

In their gold coats spots you see;

Those be rubies, fairy favours,

In those freckles live their savours:

I must go seek some dew-drops here

And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.

Farewell, thou lob of spirits: I’ll be gone;

Our queen and all her elves come here anon.

Survivor

By Mah Noor

Heart skipped a beat

Hands shivered

Pain engulfed the soul

As I sat by the river

Hollow pebbles

Making ripples

Silent screams

A cacophony

Dripping tears

Drop by drop

Sinking body

Waiting to be free

Eyes wide open

Looking at the irony

My heart skipped

Another beat

Pain dissolved in salty water

As I came out

The survivor in me

Cheered joyously

The smile that left the eyes

Touched the bleeding heart

Tears dried

Leaving marks

Hands shivered

While sewing soul

To be a woman

By Amna Ameer

The moment I started to walk on earth

I knew much intently

The ‘intent’ with which I must place my foot

One after the other

Softly yet surely

Never loudly

I knew early on

I was not meant to stomp

Or over step

May I stumble upon an alter ego

The moment I began to speak

My voice was tweaked

Shout but not scream

Voice your opinion

But not have a point of view

Walk with the change

But never try to bring something new

Because the status quo is the way

Don’t question it

Because the answer is clear

Say please and thank you

But never a no

Nod your head nicely

If you want the respect that is due

Grow from within your womb

A life that will look over you

With condescending eyes

And a proud tone

We never asked you to let us through

The world has always been this way

It’s nothing new

Bleed because you were meant to

Scream in silence because you’re only palatable with the right skin tone

Always smiling

Never a frown

Dipped in sweetness

Is the flavour of divine

Oblivion of succumbing

To patriarchal conditioning

Speak don’t scream

Suffer don’t confront

Keep the harmony

For that is what is meant

To be born a woman

Be everything

And then nothing

And then do it all

At once

Over and over again

Till we write

A story

About valour and strength

And what a privilege it is

To home a life

That never pays

The price

Of what’s due

Compiled by SK