Countless griefs ago
On a quiet sepulchral night…
When Satan shook off his pious mask
And ranged the snowy breast of Earth
When rats dug deeper into their burrows
And cats on the prowl scratched the Earth
When birds in their nests batted not an eyelid
And scavengers sleepless scoured the Earth
When heifers lowed not at the fall of the sword
And butchers slew not uttering the Word
A squall leapt up…
Befuddling the wise
Benumbing the young
Undoing the yarn that the Sufis had spun
Tossing it low
In the spluttering Fire
Uplifting its guns in fanatic glee
It vowed to make the infidel flee
Such was the night
Countless griefs ago…
A booming shot
Then rent the sky
Silence was splintered
But for a while…
No whirring cameras
No spy cams either
To chronicle the splintering of the sky…
It rained bullets
The 'veth' went red
But the somnolent village
In a pall slept…
The village slept
So did the world
No doors no windows
No lights no footsteps
Silence was all
Stillness was all…
The mice will pop out
At the break of day
When the Wolf with his kill
Has made his Way…
They whisper
They stutter
And life goes on without a whimper!
And life goes on without a whimper!
'veth'- Kashmiri name for the Vitasta/Jhelum
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