Urdu Poetry

The vote is cast, say nothing
Sealing lips in fearful scowl ..or else
The boogie men would come, chopping the heads
Lives measure by sand granules of the hourglass

Do not expect barbarians would understand compassion
Kindness is not a word they use in the boot camps
The sense of humor.. hmmmm , nonexistent thing
Smiling only when killing other human beings

We waiting, living, dreaming of the better world perhaps
While darkness army getting closer to the cradle
Circling, taking the hostages, sowing terror seeds
Engaging us in obligatory dance of defense
Preparing to pen epitaph for our right to live

by Margaret Gudkov

For you i write, adorning body with a words
Akin to precious jewels scattering around
They hardly add, you jewel by itself
Not craving for the ornaments or admiration
Suffice to say I love you with eyes adoring glance

Should i jot down feelings bubbling deep inside
Please do not stop me from caressing paper with a pen
The words, the rain of them, the inundating breeze
Begging to leap , embrace you in the silky parachute
I write for you my song of soul...don't resist

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Andrei Protsouk

Sort of cat, having 7 lives to live
Bouncing back from each in fierce determination
Figured 4 already passed consisting of the good , bad and ugly
Having 3 more to experience before the curtain final call

Afraid, that not a word in my vocabulary
The curiosity, the driven force behind
I risked many things before, the memories are blooming with it
The flowers on the side of thorny path

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Salvatore Fiume

The snow, white kingdom hiding eerie secrets
The bones of perished laying in the quietude
Deceiving beauty of the forest, the animal imprints
Waltz squeezing heart till pomegranate blood
Draw painting of the pain on virgin whiteness

I saw the movie in another life..it touched strings
Reverberated through with gentle candor
Now the dream repeating , turning movie reel
I am is not am, Julie Christie in Omar Sharif's arms
Dancing between the crystallized tears falling from heaven
The nature 's way disposing, sharing sadness with us

by Margaret Gudkov

Things differentiated , minutiae melted
That which important, nowadays is unimportant
The heavy baggage carried in the long run
Left unattended for the lack of usage

Eyes glued to the screen
Forgotten feeling of the wonder, deja vu returned
The little girl's first time in cinema,her face riddled with a questions
Or rather her body swaying in the question mark..how come?
The woman in the funky sweater dress
A man's hand sleepily laying on her shoulder
Wandering up and down ..occasionally kiss float by
Teenager from a past life just stepped lovely
Perturbing movie action...the present stretched
Ages backward , when kisses were the prize
The stolen gifts in darkness

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Eddy Roos

You lay voluptuously, taking the space of the few countries
Like a woman sure of her charms on comfy pillows
Giving the lover of her heart signs with the eyes, you either conquer me
Or else..i conquer you, beware of the seductive glances

Stars are even tamed by your spartan beauty
Shining ever so bright, binding the mouth for a response
The nakedness, so powerful, so gratifying for insatiable passion
It overwhelms any lone traveler who dares to cross

The boundaries between the fantasy and the real world
Are washed off by one cataclysmic sweep of nature
Leaving bare minimum for a scarce population to survive
Sahara makes you change perception, keeping on your toes

by Margaret Gudkov