I feel a simple joy
As I look upon the hills
The kind that uplifts my heart
Without the skiing thrills.

The trees look their best
All dressed in multi-coloured hues
And stretch for miles around
Against skies of brightest blues.

And as I watch the sun,
Rise from the other side;
I see life stirring out,
From where at night it hides.

The sky gets filled with colour:
To a warm tangerine-orange glow;
And my mind is filled with awe,
At this wondrously delightful show.

Some birds have started
Singing their happy whistling tunes;
And will continue with their songs,
Till its way past noon.

There are some that have started
Before the day broke into dawn,
And unite with the melodies
Of those who start later in the morn.

And these very merry sounds
So full of happy cheer
Makes the state of Kashmir,
Our very prized frontier.

The sounds are echoed far and wide
On this mountainous terrain
Over hills and through valleys
They reach below to the plains.

At night it gets all quiet,
Except for the babbling brook
And the occasional hoot of the owl
That startles me from my book.