Started on 26-11-08... Completed 27-11-08
Dancing with the sea (by Ahmad Babar):
As I dance to the tunes of life
How I wish things were different
But the more I try, the more it hurts
Why is pain the only thing consistent?
Life was a beautiful melody once
Now it's nothing but a house of clay
Tonight even the stars laugh at me
I am finally out of words to say
Can't take in more hurt
Why can't I have some luck?
I want to move on
But my life is stuck
I have given it all I had
All to no avail
My ship wrecked and sunk
Just as I set to sail
I tried to hang on to the life buoy
Searching for a shore to reach
My feet paddled as the waves pushed me back
Further and further away from the beach
The life house beam shows me light
But no one can see me
I try shouting for help
But my voice is drowned by the sea
Slowly I lose conscience
Only to be woken by a hand
The sun blazes in my eyes
As I lay sprawled on the sand
There are people gathered all around
Their worried whispers are all I can hear
They are wondering to whom my body belongs
As the truth hits me, its not something I can bear
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thoughts
24-11-2008
Thoughts (by Ahmad Babar):
As I sit here, in seclusion with nothing but walking bodies around me, I wonder where life has brought us all. There used to be a time when every breeze brought laughter with it, when every rattling leaf used to inspire smiles.
People walk by me pretending as if I don’t exist, in fact, pretending as if no one else exists until or unless a remote possibility of their being useful churns up out of thin air. Their handshakes are the best give-ins, they are cold, lose and some even reluctant. As the hands embrace each other, the eyes look elsewhere as if they are trying to hide the sea of secrets and doubts that hide deep within.
The most “interesting” part is that everyone seems to be afraid of every other person they see. Whether the fear is that the person will blow themselves up along with everyone around them, the person will turn out to be someone we hadn’t expected them to be or for that matter, the person will take whatever they have. Hence, it won’t be wrong to conclude that we all think of each other as monsters and in essence, we are a society of Zombies.
As I try to listen to silence, all I feel is restlessness. No one seems to be happy any more. The funny part is that half of the problems people are stressed about aren’t even their own, they are what they hear on the media. Come to think of it, if people stop worrying about every random thing they hear/read in the media and channelize their efforts on solving their own issues, the world would be a much better place. It is said, “Charity begins at home” and this very well also applies to problem solving. Start by solving your own issues first and once you know how to solve problems, then go out to save the world!
Just last night I was talking with a foreigner friend whom I invited to visit Pakistan and the reply I got was, “maybe one day when the war is over in Pakistan, I will come visit. I don’t want to get killed or kidnapped”. Hearing this hurt me deep, deep inside. Is this really how we want to project ourselves to the rest of the world? Why it is that it’s either this war-zone image or the completely care-free image of “enlightened moderation” that we are always portraying to the rest of the world? Where has the “PAKISTANI” image gone? What happened to out centuries old, extremely rich and beautiful culture? What in the world happened to our values? Why have we turned into a society that neither knows what it’s own cultural and moral values are nor does it remember what it’s most practiced religion preaches?
Are these really questions without answers to them? No, I don’t believe so. I am not saying that I am the perfect Pakistani but I do take pride in the fact that I try to be. Why can’t we all stop complaining and start putting in a little more effort to make things better a step at a time? Wouldn’t it be great if all the Zombies around us turned into beautiful human beings they once were? I hope they do.
Come let’s pray together for the betterment of our lives, our society, our people, our county and this world as a whole. Let’s hope for a time when peace and serenity would prevail above all.
Allah, Grant us the Serenity to Accept the things we Cannot change, the Courage to change the things we Can and the Wisdom to know the Difference.
Thoughts (by Ahmad Babar):
As I sit here, in seclusion with nothing but walking bodies around me, I wonder where life has brought us all. There used to be a time when every breeze brought laughter with it, when every rattling leaf used to inspire smiles.
People walk by me pretending as if I don’t exist, in fact, pretending as if no one else exists until or unless a remote possibility of their being useful churns up out of thin air. Their handshakes are the best give-ins, they are cold, lose and some even reluctant. As the hands embrace each other, the eyes look elsewhere as if they are trying to hide the sea of secrets and doubts that hide deep within.
The most “interesting” part is that everyone seems to be afraid of every other person they see. Whether the fear is that the person will blow themselves up along with everyone around them, the person will turn out to be someone we hadn’t expected them to be or for that matter, the person will take whatever they have. Hence, it won’t be wrong to conclude that we all think of each other as monsters and in essence, we are a society of Zombies.
As I try to listen to silence, all I feel is restlessness. No one seems to be happy any more. The funny part is that half of the problems people are stressed about aren’t even their own, they are what they hear on the media. Come to think of it, if people stop worrying about every random thing they hear/read in the media and channelize their efforts on solving their own issues, the world would be a much better place. It is said, “Charity begins at home” and this very well also applies to problem solving. Start by solving your own issues first and once you know how to solve problems, then go out to save the world!
Just last night I was talking with a foreigner friend whom I invited to visit Pakistan and the reply I got was, “maybe one day when the war is over in Pakistan, I will come visit. I don’t want to get killed or kidnapped”. Hearing this hurt me deep, deep inside. Is this really how we want to project ourselves to the rest of the world? Why it is that it’s either this war-zone image or the completely care-free image of “enlightened moderation” that we are always portraying to the rest of the world? Where has the “PAKISTANI” image gone? What happened to out centuries old, extremely rich and beautiful culture? What in the world happened to our values? Why have we turned into a society that neither knows what it’s own cultural and moral values are nor does it remember what it’s most practiced religion preaches?
Are these really questions without answers to them? No, I don’t believe so. I am not saying that I am the perfect Pakistani but I do take pride in the fact that I try to be. Why can’t we all stop complaining and start putting in a little more effort to make things better a step at a time? Wouldn’t it be great if all the Zombies around us turned into beautiful human beings they once were? I hope they do.
Come let’s pray together for the betterment of our lives, our society, our people, our county and this world as a whole. Let’s hope for a time when peace and serenity would prevail above all.
Allah, Grant us the Serenity to Accept the things we Cannot change, the Courage to change the things we Can and the Wisdom to know the Difference.
Friday, November 21, 2008
22nd Birthday...
Unlike every year this time around I am not writing either a poem or a memoir on my birthday but I want to say a prayer, for me and for all of us:
Allah Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference...... [Amen]
Allah Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference...... [Amen]
Monday, November 17, 2008
Me & My Friend
Me & My Friend (by Ahmad Babar):
I don't know but it just seems
I am living someone else's dreams
My wings are cut, can't even fly
My eyes dried out now that I want to cry
I look for a shoulder to lean on
A hand to hold as I try to move on
Arms to give me warmth in this cold
A person with whom to grow old
A friend who will be my umbrella in this rain
The one who won't leave me stranded again
As I look out of my window
I am not sure where I should go
Should I forget everything and just fly away
Or should I ponder about whether I should stay
I want my friend to help me decide
On how I should face this tide
So I call out to you my friend
Come let's together walk towards the end
We will march on hand in hand
Against every storm we will stand
Win or lose we will move on
Our legend will prevail long after we are gone
I don't know but it just seems
I am living someone else's dreams
My wings are cut, can't even fly
My eyes dried out now that I want to cry
I look for a shoulder to lean on
A hand to hold as I try to move on
Arms to give me warmth in this cold
A person with whom to grow old
A friend who will be my umbrella in this rain
The one who won't leave me stranded again
As I look out of my window
I am not sure where I should go
Should I forget everything and just fly away
Or should I ponder about whether I should stay
I want my friend to help me decide
On how I should face this tide
So I call out to you my friend
Come let's together walk towards the end
We will march on hand in hand
Against every storm we will stand
Win or lose we will move on
Our legend will prevail long after we are gone
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