Poetry from Another Realm--Dr. Riaz Ahmad

                A Dream Unfolds Watch the ongoing ravages of time, Clicking of clock and wailing chime, Good looks and the sinister frown, But time’s sickle wears the crown.   Youthful ardor or the agony of age, They shalt stoop to the time’s rage, Ah ambitions writ on silvery waves Are mirages ushering to dark caves.   The morn’ dew tells a thoughtful tale, The Sun gliding over mount and dale, The Moon sailing ov’r silvery streams, Reposing in meadows I sense dreams.   Life’s odyssey is arduous and so long And interposed enticement all along, Unbridled whispers to veer the ways, Setting the hearts and brains ablaze!   Many will flock in but in solitude rest, Ponderous and pensive seek the best, Not a victim to the glamour’s parade, Life! But a dream wrapped in charade.                      ...

                    The Knotty Crux Fear not death, ’tis just a dreamlike kiss, Working its wand calmly, none will miss, An eternal escape from turmoil to peace. A phase where ambiguity comes to cease.   How cometh death? Sages have argued, To how, when and why they were glued, Death has its own norms, secret its ways, Illness or fate? The naive fiddle with haze.   An escape from prison to the infinite space, From the shackles of time to timeless grace, From grim dread to perks and endless bliss, So hypnotic, startling, comes a honeyed kiss.   Plead the mourners naught to cry and bewail, “My voyage is infinite, there mysteries unveil, What you mourn over is earthy frame not me, Unfettered from sly empire with a subtle glee.   Never scare, espy in dark into the vast glare There’s no hankering, pacts truthful and fair, In an endless trajectory to the unversed skies. The Master of ...

                My Life –  A Speculation   Amid trials and tribulations my life flows, Akin to a candle in the hurricane ,  it glows, Caught in violent eddies flutters its flame, S tart  and  a finish, how  wondrous  it came !   A r udderless canoe at the  clemency  of  waves, One  tireless  eagle  set on conflicts ; he  braves,            Dithering sha ll  stay   my  biography in advance, Lure and  hang-up  and then  my   endless  dance !   The reality in earnest or  a speculation ’twas, A growth from want to want, a tumult ’twas, Hard learning, crossroads and bridges along, How to absorb ? Which way I must go along?   My whole life’s  a stir and   my  emotions strong, My fantasy or adoration but  whereto I belong? My inanity or pleasure I knew nought my goal, Lost in t...

                     M ystification   To perceive  universe in a grain of sand, Revamp fate with the sleight of a  hand, The pen of wisdom and love as   wield s ! Deciphering  enigma as sapience yields!   Pause  for  an instant  and ponder again, Losses are colossal why a small gain? Winds howl , waves rile ;  shores  shrink, A  cup’s  void  but spill s  over the brink !   Opportu nities rush in when Satin calls! Iniquity soars high while integrity falls, The righteous  whine ,   the  vagrant  blares, The a ngels  panic while the Devil dares !   Evils flourish but the kindness shrinks, Honey vexes while ale each one drinks Inebriety is rampant but sobriety is rare, Wisdom’s  void while  ignorance’s aware .   Herein I watched another world emerge, Sagacity befooled  but  fancy did st  surge , Com...

                     My School Days My teacher thundered and ordered “Go” Meek and obedient I begged “Whereto” His brow knitted and eyes fiery “To hell” He roared, and I scurried to ring the bell.   Helter-skelter, to the classroom we dashed, With shame and remorse, we were abashed, He stood there, cracking his whip in silent air, Off with shoes we glided, never his eyes dare.   A horror ‘twas, to watch him suddenly come, Fuming and frothing made our senses numb; I stood up to do him honours but he slapped, Tearful and fearful; in disgrace I were wrapped.   Still un-appeased, he’d flown into a fierce rage, A new treatise he wrote on the pedagogy page, Impish soul crouch; O wind your arms to ears, Behind your legs, now enjoy drooling and fears.   His impulsive outburst was a volley of gun shots, His phrasing unspeakable; with worthless knots, At times in a fit of frenzy; he’...

                       A Search Within It matters naught which tunes I’m to play, Vibes of my lyre are astringent till this day, I untwine the strings, I had viciously made. But the sea of silence here goes un-played.   I am a singer, a wayward nomad on the way, Humming tunes, steps faltering, eyes astray, The scent of the Unseen pervades my muse, My heart is shaken, broken as I suffer blues.   An un-felt touch, a mysterious stir ah a flash Burnt my soul, a piercing pain caused a gash, Entrances, thus flung open in a violent clang, I flung my lyre off, my heart and I a duet sang.   A look at the Moon and the dark sneaking in, One Flare lit the tryst and I wert alight within, A quiet discourse ensued and befell a change, Witless love pitched against reason, so strange.   I strayed over the mountains, barrens and vales, Ran my quivering eye but couldn’t rent the vei...