I
fall from terrible altitudes of sleep
Into
an unknown dream
People
on the street shout: Azaadi
I
chase them
With
sharp edges of stolen rainbows
They
all meet me
On
the cracked roof
Of
my ancestral house
I
jump
And
fracture few dreams
Few
drops of blood
Mark
my path
I
too shout: Aazadi
Pain
blooms like flower
Inside
my head
It
exhales high scent of conspiracy
I
crawl
Into
my grandmother’s Pheran pocket
It’s
dark like grave
Moon
comes down
Sits
Silent
like a kind nurse
My
grandmother sings
Lalded
To
lull me to sleep
I
shout: Aazadi
She
sings again
Nundresh
I
shout: Hunger
She
feeds me
With
terrifying stories
Of
Arabian Nights
I
console myself
With
newly found marbles
I
take them all
Inside
my right palm
And
run hard
Faster
than bullets of tragedy
Cutting
through pepper smoke
And
invisible shouts
“Hey you!
What do you have in your hands?”
I
swallow one marble
“Tell us, you bastard!”
I
swallow another one
“Come here or I’ll kill you”
I
throw the last one at him
He
exchanges my marble
With
old rusty bullet
It’s
stuck
Into
my head
Inside
the cobwebs
Of
my dreams
What
fools!
Such
terrible trade
I
shout again: Aazadi
Aazadi
sings back
In
my grandmother’s voice
I
fall again from terrible altitudes of sleep
Into
another unknown dream
