‘Vultural’ Ababeel
By Junaid Ashraf
From the western skies
when mountains
were bathing in gold
an army of pigeons
from some strange land
carrying pebbles
like the abaeel came
and stormed
with those stones
the Kaaba
of our hearts.
that moment
neither sun
nor sky was visible
as they hovered
on the sky
like a dark storm.
That night
they didn’t leave
but stayed
on the branches
hidden
and in the forsaken homes
likes ghosts in city.
That entire night
suddenly they would appear
and land
on people’s heads
stab their beaks
and chew the brains
like the birds in the dream
of Joseph’s jail mate.
Ours is not a culture
it is a vulture
that scavenges
on our society
from skies of this culture
foreign clouds rain
and fill the cups of our hearts
we pour our actions from
this, a possessed culture
ghosts, there are in it!
hidden on the branches ,
in the forsaken homes!
*
Junaid Ashraf is a student from Kashmir. He has done his post-graduate studies in economics. He is currently pursuing his masters in English literature. He has written opinion pieces, fiction and poetry for various newspapers and literary magazines. Research, writing poetry and fiction are his main interests. Besides that, he is a sports enthusiast and likes playing football, cricket and skiing. Political activism is his passion.