The sly fancier of Gulzar complains: “oh, verses are no good”!
She clings to whom she slanders—Allah, her curses are no good!
She bears the sting of firaq, like children dream of treasures drowned;
Alas, her regal ancestors’ gilded purses are no good!
Only Florence knew how deep the wounds were from the Crimean War;
When the world’s bloodiest battles have ceased, nurses are no good!
O Qasim, all your zaalim lovers, have stripped off all your masques;
In the barren janaazas of your kind, state hearses are no good!
Photograph Courtesy: Lussie G, Pixabay.
Arup K. Chatterjee 