My Urdu Poem Translated by ABID AHMED

Curfew, I and he

Sheikh Khalid Karrar

Translated from the original Urdu by Abid Ahmad

Through the lattice

As far as I can see

It’s an eerie silence

With yellow patch on road

Beating its head.

Foot path all around

Littered with churned shadows

Till far

A bat hanging from an electric pole

Yellow face of the morning

Night’s tail of agony

An animal

And a soldier....

An uncanny silence.

Experiences-

As old as thousands of years-

Arm-folded

As if satisfied with the silent city.

The desktop of my computer

Displays yesterday’s picture.

The commotion rises again

In the street

Crowds flow

Shadows float

Rest….

Its all silence.

But…

I wish

I could bore through the silence

Go to the soldier on the street

And ask him

“come!

You too check out yesterday’s picture on my desktop.

I will zoom in on the BLOOD!!!”