the way it is...

tussan malik saadi dil de ho
jadan khwab vichaley mildey ho
janbaz dassan kya haal thheenday?
mein ronda han, tussan khildey ho

- Janbaz Jatoi

ennui?

It comes upon him in the dead of night; an insidious specter, delighting in joining in the melancholic games of solitude the dark is playing on him, yet wary of his cornered spirit, his troubled mind. ‘What do you fear?’ it murmurs, mimicking the breathless tone of a lover about to bestow love's first kiss. ‘My vacillating faith’ he replies, sullenly, resignedly, not showing any interest in being wooed. The stillness of the dark is, for a moment, ruffled. ‘What is there to be afraid of?’ it asks in a manner of gentle bemusement. ‘I do not want to lose it again’ he answers after a long, empty pause. The dark gets denser around him, heavier. ‘And how do you fear losing it?’ it inquires, woefully, as if knowing what is to follow. ‘It’s a cruel, selfish world which does not comprehend the value of trust. When trust is shattered, all faith is shattered, all else is lost. I will not be able to survive any of that anymore’ he speaks wearily, half-expecting to be understood, half-imagining a ray of light in the unrelenting dark. ‘Sanctimonious liar’, it hisses, ‘you yourself are the thief, the desecrator of trust. And your only fear is that you may be avenged of your sin. You fear that which you deserve, and long for that which you do not. Be damned!’ ‘Amen’, he sighs. The dark closes in.

seven years

Chacha Saeen

Ay raat jehri k sirf tuhadi yaad di raat hay te jeendi sik ich meda poora saal langhdey, aj traye baldyein angaryein di veil vaindi payee hay jehray dozakh di aakhri chund toon unchithay meday utey un dhatthin aur meda cheta itna ral gaye k mekoon na apna hosh reh na dunya o mafeeha da. Bus itna pata hay jo medi saari raat hunr tarapdyein guzarsi.

Tuhakoon andaza kaini saeen jo mein kitna sharminda han. Aur kitna mayoos vi kyunke mekoon nazarda pe jo mein een hik saal ich kitna khud-gharz te aapni haqeeqat toon kitna andha thhee giyan. Lekin, aye mein apney naal ehd karendan jo jay agley saal tayeen jeenda reehum, tan vala een raat koon khaali kaina vanjanr desaan. Te je mar giyum tan een kanu behtar biya kya thhee sagdey?

Bus, eeho kujh aahda hum. Kash bala das te phera marendi hovay ha. Kash tuhadi ja mein hovan ha.

Hasni.