Archives / Basiratulann Shahid

7

I See Creation

Open the world. What do you see? Hidden within the vibrant blues, I see lace coral, starfish, The seadragon carrying life on its tail, In distant lands, A Komodo dragon hatches, Pebble toads camouflage themselves, Serpents slither in silence, An iguana roams the roasting desert. I see creation. In the world around me, I see sunflowers, delicate blossoms, Dragon’s blood trees:  dense emerald canopies In the mosaic of rainforests. I watch damselflies, bustling bees living in secrecy, The butterfly of the night chasing the stars, Fireflies burning and dancing...

04 January 2013 | Nature, Reflection | , , , , | 7 Comments
26

The Ephemeral

I used to be perfect: Untouched, unblemished, undisturbed. Yes, I was beautiful before you Came and changed me. You seem to forget that I was made for you But you were never made for me. You broke me The rain leaked Down. You started this. You sent wire missiles, bullets of bricks, Glass armies, cavalries of concrete . And you say that I am yours. The angels are healing me at dawn. While you sleep, I lie awake And remember what I was. Perfect were the days before you,...

20 April 2012 | Environment, Featured | , , , , | 26 Comments
7

Painting Time

I’m wasting colours, painting time, Throwing the pen in the air, Slicing okra in the orange-faded Kitchen, watching the thirds tessellate Like broken stencils in the colander. The metal fades, so I drag the blinds And unscroll the curtains to see rain Slipping down the windows. The Song? Tapestries of water Drops, puddles, oceans, casting lullabies, I try to follow - but my voice dies, They whisper the tune until I forget. Everything turns to dust: I can tell you I will, not when, There are shapes in the shadows,...

13 December 2011 | Featured, Time | , , , , , , , | 7 Comments
12

Bee In My Hijab

It was that time of the year when the school decides to reward attendance with two weeks of exams. An optimist would say, “at least they gave us study leave” but not me, since any attempt at being positive typically gets squashed like a fruit fly. We line up outside the hall with our see-through pencil cases and our label-less water bottles. My classmates frantically try to recite equations and facts without their physics revision notes at hand. I gaze out of the window and begin daydreaming. I recall...

21 November 2011 | Hijab | , , , , , , , | 12 Comments