An Extraordinary Death

An Extraordinary Death

A poem by Faridoon Shahryar 

Pain is not new 

Others have felt it before

Pain will flower 

Even when you're not around;

It is time to make

The lie of life 

One hell of a ride.

The bloody trail,

A fictitious tale,

Salivating scavengers 

Feasting on rumour mongering 

Go out and have 

Your day in the sun,

Yes I am willing to die

If that pleases you,

But I will dance,

A happy dance 

Till the last breath,

Rob me of all my rights

But I bet you can't 

Rob me of happiness,

A golden smile,

As if nothing happened.

If death is my fate,

I refuse to die 

An ordinary death.

Come get me!

Nile:In search of perfection

Nile: In search of perfection 

A poem by Faridoon Shahryar

Boat of time 

Rests easy,

Creases of ripples 

Play hide and seek

On a gentle face;

Grace balloons

In slow motion 

Sunlight nudges 

Optimistically;

Smoke oozes out,

Tepid clouds of fire

Spoil the magnificence,

If only I could douse it,

If only perfection could exist.

Provocative Illusion

Provocative illusion 

A poem by Faridoon Shahryar

Fear App 

Has been 

Forcibly installed 

As that's what is 

Relevant now;

The victim App

Is increasingly 

Less in vogue,

The job is almost done.

Smartphone of emotions,

A playground for change 

Menacing ringtone 

Blood on the keypad,

A digital nightmare,

A catastrophic daydream.

'Don't react'

Silence screams.

'Provocation is an illusion,

Don't react'.

A Dove, escapes...

A Dove, escapes..

A poem by Faridoon Shahryar 

A dove has taken a flight

The chaotic river flows 

Amidst cacophonous turmoil, 

Determined not to look below

The noise will die down anyways

Sky of possibilities beckons

Graciously opening its arms

Away from forked friends 

And poisonous foes

The uncertainty, 

The hope, 

The falsehood 

Its all behind 

Far behind, 

Time to escape, 

Refuel, 

Clouds of make believe 

Seem like a

Safe refuge.

The New Normal

The New Normal

A Poem by Faridoon Shahryar 

The ants are insignificant 

They always were

Now a bit more

No, the elephants 

Aren't afraid, 

Old stories are irrelevant;

The animals are the same 

But their roles have changed 

This is what is being called as

The New Normal. 

Predators propagate 

'We don't prey, we protect'

The jungle believes them 

Fear of deluge 

Besieges the hapless 

Announcements are made

Blaming the warped atmosphere 

On a known enemy

The night of calamity strikes

In the veil of darkness 

A tragedy is endorsed

Predators prey mercilessly 

Morning finds them wearing 

The garb of protectors 

Jungle echoes gratitude

This is what is called as 

The New Normal. 

A bunch of fools

Raised their voices

For they knew 

The pattern of deceit, 

No one believed them 

They were labeled as 

'Mischief makers'

The rotten apples 

Buried their voices

In the graves of 

Petrified silence 

This is what is confirmed as 

The New Normal. 

Morning awakens me

With an acute pain, 

I am trying to figure out

My new role 

In the new order

For I am neither

Predator, pretentious protector

Nor a worthless fool

All I know is that I am scared of

The New Normal...

An Unstoppable Wind

A poem dedicated to my mom Najma Mahmood who celebrates her 75th birthday tomorrow. :) 

An unstoppable wind

A poem by Faridoon Shahryar 

The wind was caged 

Inside four walls

Of a small town

A ray of light sparked 

An interest to spread 

The wings;

Window of closed minds

Burst open 

The sky was her own

An applause followed

And many a storms

There were options 

To get buried in the hot sand, 

Merge with the cold sea water

Hide in illusion of clouds

But this was a wind 

Meant to bring in Change 

Not out of any design 

She just refused to 

Buckle down under pressure 

Many an obituary were written, 

Yet, the journey got inspiring

The wind became a storm

When it was forced into submission

The opposition gave way grudgingly

Bugle of victory 

Can be heard from a distance 

Such triumphs are rare

The wind is simply unstoppable...

Can I trust you?

Can I trust you? 

A poem by Faridoon Shahryar 

I was woken up 

By a fear, 

And it had a face 

There was nothing untoward

Almost like a friend 

Yet the intuition lurked

In suspicion, 

I asked hesitantly, 

'Can I trust you?'

Get scared, or...

Get scared, or... 

A poem by Faridoon Shahryar 

The wind glared ferociously

Threatening to smash

My car window 

There was Arrogance 

In its eyes 

As if the protective glass

Didn't stand a chance;

Waves of discomfort 

Knocked at my heart 

An impulse urged to 

Get out of the car

And run, far away, 

Save myself, 

Find help, 

Maybe a respite, 

A shelter. 

Another knock,

Piercing scream, 

Monstrous wind

Laughing menacingly

As if provoking me 

'Get scared, or... '