War Incomprehensible

Mir Mahboob Ali

My heart bleeds at the plight of my brethren in faith

For what fault their children innocent should suffer?

Unspeakable deprivation like their fathers, in this time

Of much-vaunted civilization, that existed never before,

Human rights much cherished, their rights to live

With insane, inhuman ruthlessness demolished.

Made to suffer inhuman, crippling diseases, even death

Reason cited ‘dearth of nutrition’, easily avoidable.

World has enough to feed many times their numbers

Hunger takes their lives every day in scores.

Huge wealth buried under the land they inhabit,

Wretched life of poverty and deprivation they live!

O, the Conscience of the world! Rise from slumber

Question, condemn, protest, resist, and let sanity prevail.

Why this devastating war unjust?

Indiscriminately, killing women and children

Forced on a people that want not liberated

By a power viewed unfriendly for long

Siding with an unjust occupation, so eager

To liberate a people never cared for, before!

Tyrant or no tyrant, the method chosen for elimination,

Must be condemned, for it is unjust, illogical and illegal,

For the mere fact that the majority of the world-

A peaceful solution wanted that is possible.

Showing utter disdain for world opinion

Talk of Geneva Convention, is criminal.

Shame on the World! The greatest perpetuates

A crime against humanity, we are mere onlookers.

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Transition

Mir Mahboob Ali

Death comes to put one to eternal sleep,

How death can come, it’ s dead?

Eternal sleep! What, how can it be so?

Is not passing from hither- a transition?

Freedom

Mir Mahboob Ali

In an antiquated body a young heart,

Is hard to contain in a body so ancient.

Its lively beats almost break my bones,

With each beat I can hear the screech

Freedom, freedom, it cries loud and clear.

An antique cannot be my abode anymore.

I sing

Mir Mahboob Ali

I sing victory to youthful passion

To the brave and the courageous

To the intense intensity of young love

Braving rain or thunder or the scorching sun

Arms in arm defying tradition

Breaking all norms and custom

Not degrading in obscenity

Love is not obscene, serene profoundly

Love is serene sacred emotion

Binding two hearts together

Giving courage to one another

Giving hope and encouragement

In adversity loving shelter

In sadness and sorrow comfort

Sharing sorrow and happiness

Together in abundance and paucity

Braving all circumstances together

Diminishing, dwarfing individuality

Unknown

Mir Mahboob Ali

Soaring high in the sky my soul

Unbounded by the earthly limits

Aspire limitlessly to diffuse

In the vast fathomless cosmos.

What is this form or the soul?

Constantly in the infinite quest

Moving round and round in a circle

Bewildered, helpless, it travel.

Where am I, where am I going?

Destination unknown.

Question swirling relentlessly

Nagging, driving me insane.

Resting my faith in Almighty God

Give me hope and keep me sane.

My soul returns from limitless journey

To a limited sojourn, mundane.

My soul know deep in its heart

This is not the time to embark,

On a journey so vastly distant.

It needs time to purify and mature,

Only then it can take the tour,

Go, search for the ultimate truth.

Still not a Cynic

Mir Mahboob Ali

I would love to trust my fellow beings

Have faith in goodness of mankind

But very few possess the quality

Of compassion, piety and integrity.

I have not turned a cynic, irrevocably,

Because I still have faith in God the Almighty.

Deep down in my soul,

A churning desire swirl,

To cleanse the world

Of its filthy trash

Bit by bit a mountain,

Accumulated over the years.

Far beyond my reach,

Is a Titanic, Herculean task.

Saddened, I only brood,

Crippled by my rage.

Not at the injustices and disparity,

Mad at my inexcusable inability.

I have not turned a cynic, thankfully,

Because I still have faith in God the Almighty.

Mirage

Mir Mahboob Ali

I have been running after a mirage all my life

I have greyed myself my bones are cracking,

So loud is the noise, I can hear them in my sleep.

Happiness always lurked without my reach.

Without you

Mir Mahboob Ali

Love dwells in my heart

Forever eternal.

Desire burns my soul purer

Forever eternal.

My hands are soaked

Forever with softness

That you are.

For me you are the glow of life

And brightness of my eyes

Without you I am nothing

But ashes, lifeless, inert,

Obsolete dust, dried grasses.

Like trees without leaves,

Thirst unquenched.

How do I

Mir Mahboob Ali

Clouds in the sky make me cry

I feel small and useless

Before its mighty goodness.

They drop to the earth,

Touch the dry land,

Like a magic wand

Instill life into its heart.

It breathes and produces.

What do I?

Raindrops cleanse earth off filth and dirt,

Cleanse human hearts of evils and sins:

Loathsome smallness and pettiness,

Unthinkable treachery and mistrust,

Inhuman brutality and vengeance,

Unspeakable falsehood and impiety,

How do I?

An Honour

Mir Mahboob Ali

To be edited by you

As good a poet as you are

Is an honour

Your mighty pen touching mine

May induce some might therein.

Live for others

Mir Mahboob Ali

Everything born lives

On this earth its turn.

Insects, birds, marine and land animals,

Herbs, shrubs, grasses and trees,

Ants, cats, dogs and hogs,

Crows, vultures, worms and snakes,

So do the human beings –

The greatest creation of God.

Seldom some attains immortality,

Rests are equal with animals,

They eat, drink and breed,

So do all the animals.

Intelligence- God’s gift to human

Abused at random without remorse.

They fight, conspire and betray,

Inflict grievous injury and kill,

Instigated by limitless greed,

Pride insatiable, ruthless revenge.

Though some dies trumpeted

Not remembered talked or quoted.

For they leave nothing behind,

Save loathsome eerie tales

Of Inflated greed and pride.

Deeds of charity, magnanimity,

Benevolence that benefit humanity,

Shall carry you through eternity.

Live for others not for self,

Eternity shall salute thee.

I Pray

Mir Mahboob Ali

I have grown old and gray

But I pray

May God, give me an everlasting youthful soul

Drenched in love evermore

So overwhelming that sadness

Or other baleful emotions

My heart bids farewell!

Insatiable

Mir Mahboob Ali

I was young even a few days back.

I am aging fast burning like a meteor.

But my heart is still young,

As it responds to a thing of beauty

And is bewitched by rhythmic motions

Of Junoesque damsels.

The body says shame on you,

The heart cries out for more!

Nothingness

Mir Mahboob Ali

Just like a flower,

Aging fast you are.

Guarding your beauty and youth

From whom and for what,

Will not last longer than my love.

A flower is a flower

Only if the nectar drunk

Or fragrance enjoyed.

Untouched not caressed

Turns into nothingness.

Warriors or Terrorists

Mir Mahboob Ali

If warriors cross borders, they are terrorists!
Attack with tanks and armored vehicles its retaliation!
No matter civilians killed or wounded.
Fighters and bombers demolishing with vengeance
That the civilized designate as defense.
What else could they do, they are so helpless,
Against the degenerate invisible Unknowns.
Look, at the gang of ragtag Ruffians,
Hanging outdated guns from their shoulders,
Have the temerity to call them warriors.

How on earth, they are anything but terrors!
Highly civilized mind fail to comprehend.
Civilized, because, they kill with precision and poise,
Do not blink their eyes, and not bitten by remorse.
So brave determined and resilient are they,
Prepared, armed and trained for a long day.
Not using bayonets, bullets or grenades to kill,
High-flying contraptions do the drill,
With precision, save one or two stray mistakes- what then,
A few women and children are killed, ‘to err is human’.

Thousands of men and women, at a stroke, were lost,
No matter, ten times more lost over decades by one, two and four.
Mindless killings be condemned, in numbers big or small,
In the East or the West, Anywhere and Everywhere.

To defend and demand justice is an inherent right,
Indiscriminate retaliation not proportionate is unjust.
‘Nothing is unfair in love and war’,
Does not give license to kill wholesale.
Wrongs cannot be righted by blunders,
Be in the name of justice or revenge.
Killings of defenseless be condemned,
In the East or the West, Anywhere and Everywhere.

Are not they brave and valiant Crusaders?
Pitted against a band of bandits,
Because, they fight with machine guns,
Toys compared to bombs and missiles.
Warriors and martyrs!
How could they be anything but terrorists?
Turbaned, bearded, gun slinging ragged gang of Ruffians.

Warriors are they, who kill with venomous precision,
Stealthily from the sky, causing, unforeseen destruction,
Irrespective of cries for relief and compassion,
In the name of security, humanity, peace and freedom!
Warriors are they, who kill without the slightest remorse,
In the name of truth, justice, equity, sanity and righteousness!

Father-Leader

Father-Leader


Mir Mahboob Ali


(1) Struggle, Rise, Internment and Return


From the tumultuous pandemonium of fifties through seventies
Like Phoenix rose Sheik Mujib, not only a name, a revolution.
Nemesis of the tyrannical octopus, heavenly blessings for his people,
Of people deprived, impoverished, tyrannized, he is the Saviour, Emancipator.
Bengal Tigers found their roar, long lost, till now neglected utterly,
They stood up with full glory, forcing the mighty bow before the wishes of the most.

God, the Almighty ordained him the Liberator worthy,
Of people long deprived of their rightful rights shamefully.
His life on the line the leader wrested freedom for his countrymen,
From the clutches of Satan, he unshackled his brethren.
Defying death back from the intriguers’ dark dungeon
The uncrowned king came back to the ‘smiles of million’.
Angels above cried with him, informed of unspeakable torture
Rape, destruction, committed by the Paki-occupation,
In the name of religion brutalizing a whole nation -
Despicable hypocrisy, shameless, brazen blasphemy!
Devoid of any shred of humanity, the diabolic, myopic force
Descended straight from the seething, burning, swirling hell-
Their perpetual abode; gyrating like a huge slimy serpent.
With the mayhem unsatisfied, beheading a whole nation conspired.
Created a corps of boot-licking sycophants- called Rajakars
Picked up the intelligentsia gathered by this devilish Mafia:-
Notorious Al-Badar, Al-Shams, killed them after inhuman torture.
The skies cried, the earth trembled but the brutes remained unmoved.
Now thundering ‘Joy Bangla’, the holy battle cry of Liberation,
Bengalese in millions rushed out to welcome their beloved leader,
Liberator, the Emancipator, Saviour the Founder - the Father.
Breaching skies thundered ‘Joy Bangla’, reaching Heavens above
Sky shook, the earth trembled, and Heavens whirled and bled
Tremors reaped the heart of the beastly enemy interned,
Blood congealed with fear, face blackened with shameful defeat.


(II) Reaction and Amnesty*

Heart torn into pieces, tears in his eyes the leader remembers,
God the Omniscient, the Prophet and his Mecca conquest,
The last Messenger forgave Sanguinary Meccans,
His own people still heathen, out of fatherly compassion..
To the pathetic vanquished, he could not be vengeful.
Victorious and triumphant, he forgives his countrymen.
The Messenger remains benevolent, kind towards Meccans
That hounded the Chosen and his Companions like hungry lions,
Persecuted him mercilessly without respite,
Followers suffered brutality day and night,
Forcing them to migrate from their beloved motherland,
To chart a course unknown leaving all belongings behind.
Yet, goodness of the Prophet overcomes the urge for revenge.
He declares a general amnesty, conquers evil with benevolence.
Punishment was death for the vanquished brought in chains,
The holy Messenger forgives them their sins,
He sets them free to go back to their families:
Supreme kindness never has been seen before or since.
Thus, the leader vows in his heart not to avenge,
Deaths, destruction caused by the collaborators.
The leader of leaders, the benevolent Bengali,
The greatest of all Bengalese chose the path of peace,
Not unleashing vengeful killing of the loathsome vanquished.
And thus, he rose above the multitude all over again,
As was he towering always, above all and sundry.
A leader dignified and compassionate in gaol and glory,
A consummate statesman of supreme calibre,
He is steadfast, prudent, swift and astute.


(III) Necessity of Leaders


A revolution to succeed, a leader forever a paramount necessity,
French Revolution, or Sepoy Mutiny, proved that conclusively.
Revolution is no revolution at all without the masses.
Uprising without a leader is a missile nuclear in wilderness.
Revolution armed or unarmed a tremendous change in the lives of millions.
Participated by all, all leaders, therefore? Ever heard of such falsity before?
Seething rage of millions, at discrimination suffered, like a mighty tidal bore
Or cyclone, can wreck havoc, unleashed unguided.
Only a guide, sagacious supreme, can rein in, such volcanic vigour
Charting a new course, using the devastating force, absolutely sure.
Only a leader astute extremely, can control the mighty energy,
And focus the tremendous force, surely towards the desired goal.


(IV) Importance of Leaders


Prime is, therefore, importance of a leader.
Unguided or in hands lesser, a revolution is destined to fail.
Blessed we are that our war was in the hands of a worthy leader.
Who then create confusion to dethrone, Father, the Liberator?
Beware hence you play, in the hands of Satan.
To burn in Hell forever, Beware, Beware, O believer!



(V) Conjured confusion

Abraham occupies the mightiest place, Father of all Muslims:
Aryans, Dravidians, Caucasians, Negroid, Mongoloids or Semites,
Father also of the Jewish, and the Christians of all races,
God crowned him with a sacred exalted position.
Fatherhood, relatively trivial, is insulting the exalted man.
Belittle him only to dethrone, the father of Bengalese?
Blasphemy, shameful sacrilege, brazen, profane!
Drag beneath, a person, so exalted, hallowed,
To depose a lesser man, all sanctity profaned.
Shame, shame, humanity defiled, O, The faithful be mortified.




Conclusion


Our leader is our leader, Chosen.
Save us from injustices, ordained.
Beware; don’t create confusion, driven only by myopic illusion.
Satan’s consorts are all, condemned to Hell perpetual.


O believers, remember! ‘Don’t create chaos and confusion on earth!’
Raging vengeance makes you forget, who you are.
Senses blurred with rage insatiable, injunctions, you don’t care anymore.
Vengeance writhing, swirling, seething, slowly but surely, eating away your soul.
O believers, do you remember? Look about you, rise from slumber!
O the children of Abraham! In what a hellish abyss you are.
Stirring ‘tempest in a teacup’, endlessly, creating confusion,
An attribute of abysmal Satan, excels he in the art, enjoys his skills,
Bending, twisting at his sweet will, playing with human mind with perfection.
Give into temptations for glory and passion, irrevocably in his hand you fall,
Becoming a consort of the devil forever condemned to Hell.

*Those against whom specific charges were there did not come under this amnesty.