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[kasturimann]

tu jo aa jaye to is ghar ko sanwarta dekhun ek muddat se jo veeran hai use basta dekhun

khwaab bankar tu barasta rahe shabnam shabnam aur bas mai isi mausam ko nikharta dekhun

jise milna hi nahin us se mohabbat kaisi sochta jaaun magar dil me utarta dekhun

chand lamhe jo tere ishq ke mil jaate hai in hi lamhon ko mai sadiyon mein badalta dekhun

iftikhar imam siddiqui

[kasturimann]

ae dil pahle bhi ham tanha the

ae dil ham tanha aaj bhi hain in zakhmon se in daaghon se ab apni baatein hoti hain jo zakhm ki surkh gulaab hue jo daagh ki badr-e-munir hue is tarah se kab tak jeena hai main haar gaya is jeene se koi abr uthe kisi qulzum se ras barse mere viraane par koi jaagta ho koi kudhta ho mere der se wapas aane pe koi saans bhare mere pahlu mein aur haath dhare mere shane par aur dabe dabe lahje mein kahe tum ne ab tak bade dard sahe tum tanha tanha chalte rahe tum tanha tanha jalte rahe suno tanha chalna khel nahin chalo aao mere hamraah chalo chalo naye safar par chalte hain chalo mujh ko bana ke gavaah chalo

saqi faruqi

[kasturimann]

ajnabi shehr ke ajnabi raaste meri tanhaai par muskuraate rahe mai bahut der tak yun hi chalta raha tum bahut der tak yaad aate rahe

zehar milta raha zehar pite rahe roz marte rahe roz jeete rahe zindagi bhi humein azamaati rahi aur ham bhi use azmaate rahe

kal kuchh aisa hua main bahot thak gaya is liye sun ke bhi ansuni kar gaya kitni yaadon ke bhatake huye kaarawaan dil ke zakhmon ke dar khat-khataate rahe

zakhm jab bhi koi zehan-o-dil par laga zindagi ki taraf ek daricha khula ham bhi goya kisi saaz ke taar hain chot khaate rahe gunagunaate rahe

sakht haalaat ke tez tufaan mein ghir gaya tha hamaara junoon-e-wafa ham charaag-e-tamanna jalaate rahe wo charaag-e-tamanna bujhaate rahe

rahi masoom raza

[kasturimann]

maujein bhi humari ho na sakin, toofan bhi humara ho na saka, ya tum hi kisi ke ho na sake, ya koi tumhara ho na saka.

gunahon ka devta

[kasturimann]

tum ek bhool-bhulaiya ho akaashaganga mein nakshatron ka jangal aur main tum mein ho kar bhi tumhein dhoondhte dhoondhte thak kar patthar ka parinda ho jaaunga ek din

phir bhala tum mujhe kyun dhoondhogi andhere ki baarish mein gumshuda patthar ke us kabootar ko jise tumne kabhi dekha hi nahin!

chandrakant devatale

[kasturimann]

INTEZAAR

kavita likh kar har baar maine tumko sunaane ka intezaar kiya tumne kaha samay nahin hai!

phir maine patton ko sunaai kavita us baras basant mein bohot phool aaye.

ab phoolon ko tumhara intezaar hai mai jaanta hoon tumhare paas samay nahin hai.

rakesh rohit

[kasturimann]

NIVEDAN

tera prem halahal pyaare, ab to sukh se peete hain. virah sudha se bache hue hain, marne ko hum jeete hain.

daud daud kar thaka hua hai, pad kar prem pipasa mein. hriday khoob hi bhatak chuka hai, mrig marichika aasha mein.

mere marumay jeevan ke hey sudha strot! dikhla jao. apni aankhon ke aansu se isko bhi nahla jao.

daro nahin, jo tumko mera upalambh sunna hoga. keval ek tumhara chumban is mukh ko chup kar dega.

jaishankar prasad

[kasturimann]

PREMPATR

pret aayega

kitab se nikal le jaayega prempatr

giddh use pahad par noch noch khayega

chor aayega to prempatr churayega

juari prempatr par hi danw lagayega

rishi aayenge to daan mein mangenge prempatr

barish aayegi to

prempatr hi galayegi

aag aayegi to jalayegi prempatr

bandishen prempatr par hi lagai jayengi

sanp aayega to dansega prempatr

jhingur ayenge to chatenge prempatr

kide prempatr hi katenge

prlay ke dinon mein

saptarshai, machhli aur manu

sab ved bachayenge

koi nahin bachayega prempatr

koi rom bachayega

koi madina

koi chandi bachayega, koi sona

main nipat akela

kaise bachaunga tumhara prempatr

badri narayan

[kasturimann]

When I Am Among the Trees

Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,

“and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine.”

[kasturimann]

UNTIL THE STARS COLLAPSE

you owe it to yourself to quit being the apology. to

hold your hand and sing your favorite song. to

love another and see how far that will go. to love

yourself and forget where you were headed in the

first place. love is a funny story. it wakes up and

builds a plot. it wakes up and shapes you into the

kind of woman your mother studies. i am not per-

fect in it. i am not even remotely articulate. but it

is big, this love. it is airborne and triumphant. i am

no easy show. i hurt like the climb of my lineage. i

hurt on purpose. i hurt to not be hurt. no, none of

this is an excuse. just a blueprint. a map. come

find me when the day is bronze and the sorrow is

full. i am building my poem in this here heart. all

of it is a working title.

Tonya Ingram

[kasturimann]

LEAVES

Years do odd things to identity.

What does it mean to say

I am that child in the photograph

at Kishamish in 1935?

Might as well say I am the shadow

of a leaf of the acacia tree

felled seventy years ago

moving on the page the child reads.

Might as well say I am the words she read

or the words I wrote in other years,

flicker of shade and sunlight

as the wind moves through the leaves.

Ursula K. Le Guin

[kasturimann]

DON'T HESITATE

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,

don't hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty

of lives and whole towns destroyed or about

to be. We are not wise, and not very often

kind. And much can never be redeemed.

Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this

is its way of fighting back, that sometimes

something happens better than all the riches

or power in the world. It could be anything,

but very likely you notice it in the instant

when love begins. Anyway, that's often the

case. Anyway, whatever it is, don't be afraid

of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

Mary Oliver

[kasturimann]

FOREVER

they say that seeing is believing and so i say:

i see you in the sunsets that meet the vast occan and disappear into the distance.

i see you in the never-ending galaxies that i can only glimpse with the naked eye.

i see you in the view of the treetops or the city lights that seem to stretch for an eternity.

even in this fleeting life, i see you in all these wonders that remind me to believe there's such a thing as forever.

Rachel Huckel

[kasturimann]

HOMESICK

they warn us to not make homes out of people. they say it will hurt too much while they are gone. but what are these beating hearts good for if not a place for others to belong?

my heart is a home with many rooms with empty spaces for people to stay, and sometimes we are lucky and find ones who remain with us even when they are away.

i'm forever making homes out of people scattering bits of myself in the ones i trust. and yes, it's messy but trust me it's better than keeping them to myself to collect dust.

there are parts of others you need to take care of and parts of yourself you need to give, and while missing people is like being homesick, i think this is how we are meant to live.

because we all have certain people that for some reason feel like the safety of home. it's true that without them you might feel lonely but at least you are not doing life alone.

Rachel Huckel

[kasturimann]

kar loonga jam'a daulat-o-zar us ke baad kya

le loonga shaandaar sa ghar us ke baad kya

may ki talab jo hogi to ban jaaunga main rind

kar loonga maykado ka safar us ke baad kya

hoga jo shauq husn se raaz-o-niyaaz ka

kar loonga gesuon mein sehar us ke baad kya

she'r-o-sukhan ki khoob sajaaoonga mahfilein

duniya mein hoga naam magar us ke baad kya

mauj aayegi to saare jahaan ki karunga sair

waapas wahi puraana nagar us ke baad kya

ik roz maut zeest ka dar khatkhataayegi

bujh jaayega charagh-e-qamar us ke baad kya

uthi thi khaak khaak se mil jaayegi wahi

phir us ke baad kis ko khabar us ke baad kya

Qamar Jalalabadi