slash their words by
demanding obedience.
burn them by
shaming their dreams.
cut them to the core
by belittling their feelings -
say their feelings don't matter
as much as yours.
the result?
doubts bring them
to their knees,
constantly questioning
others and their motives.
they wonder if they're
too much and not enough,
if their feelings are valid.
their wounds scare them
into submission.
authority is not an excuse
for abuse.
nothing is.

I like to hear
the great silence
a silence beyond
all thinking

hearing depths
deeper
deeper than
all reckoning

we meet there,
all of us
on a plane
of forever

Curating...

                         To a Curator who Curates Everything

Today one reads that you curated tea
Before curating a bus into town
To curate your job at the coffee shop
And in the afternoon curating friends

Before curating to the artists’ loft
To continue curating the novel
You’ve been curating on for several months
While curating your classes and career

Your life is not a museum, you know
So DROP the CURATING; just let it GO

Act Accordingly

Forget that which was said

and that which was done

by whom for what and why

and perhaps embrace

even  within yourself

that which you have not loved


squeeze,

      from every last second

a joy that drips

                 down your hands

as it over flows  

                     your cup

because with so little time

left

there is no concern of tomorrow

or yesterday


what freedom you now have



Today is your last

act accordingly

(even if it isn't)

Save Water

Free Verse Poem

We drink and use water,

Without knowing what it does,

What benefits it gives,

Water is around but has decreased,

Without knowing that the world is drying,

Before the leaves get crooked up as life,

We need to save water, to save our life,

Water helps everything,

As we need to help it too,

We do not need water just to drink and use,

We need it, to help it, so it can help us too.

source: https://poemtheart.com
(Sarah Shahzad, November 2019)

suddenly not doing what you had done for decades
not seeing what you used to see
smelling what you used to smell
tasting what it was you used to taste
holding what you used to hold
hearing what it was you used to hear

Community Poem

We are equal, but with diverse ways and meaning of life,
We are equal, but end with same manner in this life,
At least, we all shall wind up, not knowing the end,
At least our fate make us equal to each other, in this life,



We stumble upon the unknown end,
As if it’s a new place or planet,
That we would be going to discover,
As we go, we can’t come back,



Our community is large,
But with less friends,
As we consider others as strangers,
Even though they are our same kind,



They came to this world just like us,
And will come to an end just like us,
Our flowers grow, and rot till time,
Just as us, everything carry same fate,



In our world, everyone is equal,
But we are confined to communities,
Communities are built on a new dream,
That will come to others hands as well.

Source: https://poemtheart.com/poems-about-community/
(By Sarah Shahzad, February 2020)

He never sings in stadiums
There are no curtain calls
He follows his musical heartstrings
That leads him to village halls.
Singing songs for a living
And he'll tell you he wrote a few
His love it is for music
And he is out there singing for you.
He travels around the country
Performing one night stands
He never makes much money
And he hasn't got a band.
He was never there with the big names
They just gave him a little slot
Then he doesn't  care for all that fame
He is happy for all that he has got.
Now he's been around for fifty years
And still doing his same kind of thing
His fans they are still out there
So he thanks them for everything.