Decade plus four years,
Celebration anniversary, Of
The encouraging solicitation,
For a surreptitious rendezvous.
Returned to the Garden,
Filled with zeal, enthusiasm,
And Hope, Resting upon
Thy commitments, pledges, promises.
The temperature is still 7’degree,C,
The breeze is biting cold,
A handful doing rounds on the track,
And how intruding they were, then…
The Christmas lights now dimmed,
The growing darkness in the park,
A prospect of thrilling hope, it was
Then, and today, it isn’t inviting!
Instead of cries of celebrations
There is clamour, confusion, chaos,
Sounds of wailing, echoing, reverberations,
A confluence of Love and Betrayal.
Waiting for thee, sat on the same bench,
In a flash, you appear, with flowing, scarfs,
Long, spread over thee,
In enchanting turquoise colour.
While striding towards the bench,
Thy image disappears, is it hallucination,
Nay, it was thee, and only thee,
Thy beauty cans’t be replicated.
The wait was stifling,
stirred by inaction,
Walked towards the Bush, the thicket,
You had chosen to snuggle behind…
To hug, embrace, caress
The Bush giggled,
No, not here, today, it yelled,
Thy love , an epitome of deceit .
None will come here now,
Time has moved on, its sickle
Ruthless, Emotionally devoid,
Has struck thy chords of Love.
The Bush said go away,
Simpleton, fool, plonker,
Nitwit, dunce, dope,
Suffer now, for Faith in Trust.
Ability to discern, lay in tatters,
The face , a picture of puzzle.
Pacing up, down , the park,
Found no sight of Love.
Slumped upon the bench
By thy favourite one,
Near the serpentine lake,
Watersmeet, now a mirage.
What was that touch? Who is this?
Smiling, neck bent forward, staring,
Was Love, full of happiness,
Clasped they remained, till….
The fullness of the Moon,
Dulled by her presence,
Hid Intermittently behind clouds,
Dark, grey and splintered.
Is this real or a falsity of belief?
Are the clouds of Hope? Or despair,
Wandering aimlessly, stealing
Glances, more for chances…
Eyes transfixed upon beauteous face,
Lost were all senses, time, space, frozen
Was the bond of love, affection, care
Our moist palms struggled to conjoin.
The state of ecstasy, of hope,
She jumped to squat on the grass,
Fealty was laid at the feet, by planting,
Fervently, all Love drawn , from passion.
The agony of reality struck,
A thunderclap of laughter,
Broke the errie silence,
Fooled, stood the pristine soul.
Sitting back upon the bench,
Her presence surrounded,
When did you come?
And, where did I go? Was the quiz.
You were lost, you were happy,
Living not here, but somewhere,
She pulled the mane,
Claiming, never left thee…!
Again, the vows, the pledges
Of undying love, union, reverberations
Lost in the tunnel of time. Assured,
My soul went into deep sleep.
A morning bird, tickled my shoulder,
The Sunrays blinding my sight,
Looked for her, in desperation,
Fled, she had light years back….
If Spring was this near,
How could Autumn be far,
Flinching was that touch,
Dying was that sentiment.
Taking the exit, walking pensive,
Her presence dancing around me,
The hands Clutching the feet,
Her eyes yearning for continuation…
Of, Deception, Deciet, Duplicity,
Shrugging the grasp of enticement,
Broke the fetters of deceptive love,
And walked out of , The Garden of Autumn..
To nowhere….
Sirajuddin Aziz
Karachi
