Apollo & Artemis

You are light, I am shadow, you are logic, I am art. You are my flesh, my blood, my heart and soul. You are myself, outside of me. We share the unshared, the memories that make us nostalgic and those that we dare not repeat.

We could read each other's minds and eyes, we can feel one another's pain like none else can. We know each other's lives like our own.

Nonetheless nature holds mysteries that none of us can resolve and which must not be defied, we are fated to part ways, no more being two petals of the same flower, side by side, together but not quiet, rather, being two flowers in different gardens, far from one another.

The love we share is a unique kind, non-physical, non-verbal, as if we're functioned to feel it.

Before life brings us to that fork, before we walk our separate ways, I want you to know that we came from the same womb, we'll go into the same earth, and in between you have always existed by my side and you will always be in my soul. 

Your hum-sheerah

Artemis

"When did I meet him" you ask?

"When did I meet him" you ask?

Oh a hundred years ago; it was,

When the world was still flat

When the Sun revolved around the Earth

When the time was moving backwards 

When the seasons were not sequential

The leaves were dying down

The flowers didn't smell so good and the colours were somewhat pale

It was another world, another time, perhaps a different life

It was another land, way before times

I met him when there was little hope

And the spark was fading out

When the world was upside down and nothing made sense

That's when I met him

And then everything fell in place.

- Ms. Shehab

Maslehat-shanaasi

Zara maslehatshanaasi se kaam lijiye

Sochiye mat bas maan lijiye

Zindagi ki pecheedgiyon main ulajhne na payen

Rishton ke dhaagon ko thaam lijiye

Maana ap ke kuch andeshe hain isme shamil

Magar nawabi faislon ka ihteraam kijiye

Nazuk sinf hain aqal pe na zor dijiye

Ap tou bas husn o singar se kaam lijiye

Keh rahe hain ap ke haq main bhala danishwar

Ap khamosh rahiye nazar jhukaiye sar kham kijiye

Past hain duiyavi takaze apke khyal ke aage

Ye mushkil na sar lijiye zeest yunhi tamam kijiye

-Ms. Shehab

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity or Death

We hear the word “revolution” and we directly think of ideas like, “liberty equality fraternity or death” however that has not been the case always, not every “revolution” resulted thus and not each will. Today revolution is yet again a façade created to evoke feelings of genuine passion in oppressed men, only to deceive them out of the frying pan into the fire.

If you read a few books on the three decades of The Afghan war, you will see what people are capable of doing in the name of “revolution”, “religion” and “freedom.” Khaled Hossaini in his international bestseller “The Kite Runner” wrote that when the Talibans overthrew Soviet Army to take over Afghanistan, people went insane of happiness, so much so, that they went into the streets and danced of joy. Alas! Their joy was not a lasting one because the new government was still worse than the former; although they claimed to have brought about “revolution” in the poor annihilated country.

As a mere mortal of limited experience of the world, I take no liberty of being a judge of right against wrong, nevertheless, ruthless massacre of helpless children in the name of sacrifice just breaks my heart as it would break the heart of any person who has not  sold their soul to the devil.

“Revolution” is only a word, but a very strong one at that; a word casually thrown as a bait to the powerless, who are hoping against hope for the slightest sign of sustenance to hold on to; with the inhuman intention of deceit and foully. Never mind the words, strive for the essence beyond the veil of words.

The Imperfect Rose

Last night I had a dream. I dreamt that I was in a garden, beautifully lush garden of green and red. Red being the roses, bright, like drenched in thick blood. Now, anyone who hears this would be inclined to think it was a good dream, a happy one but the complication follows. I was not satisfied. I was frustrated, deeply annoyed. I was so irritated that I was losing interest in life altogether. I wanted to leave there; I either wanted what I so desired or I wanted to give it all up, a deliberate, stubborn bipolar idea. The very obstinate reason of my annoyance was, “perfection”. I could not find the perfect rose.

I touched a few buds here and a few bushed there, I almost plucked a rather ripped flower but then I didn't. The garden was like a maze and searched tirelessly all over the place but to no avail. The one I had in mind was just not in sight. I knew it was there somewhere, it absolutely had to be but behind a veil I could not penetrate.. yet.

Now, what strucks the mind the most is the rational understanding that perfection does not exist, we as we are here in the inevitable perishing world are the earthly reflection of our heavenly forms, the people, the birds and everything else; if we strive for perfection we will go thirsty.

What is wrong is to have a mental image of “how it ‘should’ be” which is a very idealistic and therefore non-realistic image of things. You cannot beat yourself up on how things should be rather accept how things are, try to change then to suit your taste and if they don’t, well, accept things as they are. Most importantly accept people as they are. Love them as they are; which is not to say that they should not improve or try to improve others for better but firstly not by manipulation; secondly, not something they actually like about themselves; lastly not because it’s something you can’t deal with because you absolutely must not try to change people to your taste, rather if you try to change them at all, let it for their good, not the good that is your good, but what is genuinely good for them, regardless of your existence.

“Perfection” is fantasy. The only perfection is The Lord God Almighty and the prove of that is the fact that he has repeatedly stated in his verses that he will forgive us if we shall ask for it because he know we had sinned from the beginning of time and that we will continue to the end of times. I believe that is the best and the only example of perfection, to accept that nothing is perfect.

So the veil will lift, I will come across my perfect rose once I understand that it is perfect in all it's flaw and glory, only then will I cherish it. Only then will it be perfect.