— POEMS 𝒃𝒚 Ahmed Naeem

Ahmed Naeem

A Box of Matches

Who knows

when he was a vagrant

his helper

a box of matches

on silent footsteps.

Sometimes to sow a seed

of a poem,

sometimes to search for a title

of a story,

at times to light up a verse.

Or in chilling cold

just to start a blaze.

And at times, to self-immolate

how useful

is this box of matches

that sits in the right side pocket of his heart

warms him.

Hiding in its empty box

are how many poems, stories and verses.

This, only he knows

that all he has to do

is strike the box

like rubbing Aladdin’s lamp

and brilliant light would pour forth.

….

(Edited by: Louise Wakeling)

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Ahmed Naeem

A Cosmological Poem

Believe it!

Believe it!

I am ahead of you.

Though not much, but a little bit.

Oh, but the agony

Reaching into the light

my torrents of tears blind me,

realizing — yet still you are behind me

in the dark.

I wish you had kept pace with me.

You could have been 

a ray of this light

to give me back my sight .              

Your gloom makes my eyes murky.

I wish you had come into the light

to see the darkness you left behind.

The gloom of our separation

makes me dream

that you are ahead.

But these are dreams of blindness.

Would you give sight to my eyes?

Would you leave me behind?

Your darkness makes me sightless

Would you…?

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Ahmed Naeem

We Need to Invent an Utter Profanity

I need to invent a filthy word

    that does not mock or insult

    any human gender

    their body parts or shape.

I need to invent a swearing word

    that bears no detest,

    nor disgust,

    nor intention to hurt.

Can we change the alphabet of the abuses

that has been going on for centuries?

I need to invent an ultimate foul-mouthed word

spilling from one’s tongue

that insults no body parts.

I am still on a journey

of words evolving.

….

   (Translated from Urdu by Bush Ahmed)

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