It Has Been a Long Journey
It has been a long journey,
From the winding brick paved lanes of Panipat1,
Where Boo Ali Qalandar2
Preached the unification of God and Man,
To the wide avenues and squares of Paris,
Where Voltaire ridiculed all mysticism.
It has been a long journey,
From demonstrating passionately against injustice
In the streets of Karachi,
To discussing intellectually the concept of universal brotherhood
At meetings in the heart of London
The former devoid of reason, and the latter of sincerity.
It has been a long journey;
From waiting at the crossroads with a garland of jasmine flowers
For a hypocritically shy and coquettish beloved
To embracing chance acquaintances in public places.
It has been a long journey;
From struggling to create self-sufficiency and empowerment
In the cities and rural areas of an impoverished Asia,
To negotiating dependence in Washington and
The capitals of Europe.
It has been a long journey!
So many contradictions that I am tired.
Maybe our future generations will reconcile them.
Karachi, 1993
3 Comments
You can not give up
Give us solution oriented visionary insights. Without visions nation will become a waste land.
Arif ….. It was a Long Journey by 1993 ….. even longer by March 13, 2013 eh !
Wonderful poem ……
with thanks,
Maurice