parched baren fields hug
scorched dusty village of penury landscape
straddled between supposed national road
ramshackle mud hut stands detached
equally dilapidated huts fragment

crude rusty door squeakily opened
old grandma come forth
stooped the posture
wobbled the walk
rain deprived tree the refuge against sweltering heat

wind haul loose plastic bags around with wild abandon
empty bowl enticingly rolled
past hungry animated crawling toddler
ushering object illusionary windfall apparently

sunken vague eyes locked,
in tandem with fragile limbs
hot on the heels of Dancing bowl

hand too feeble to swath pestering flies outstretched
prospect of a meal within reach
skiny invigorated arm overreaches

course of trajectory swayed
container swerved off course
inverts then flipped
tiny hands trips progress!
  "you have won the hunger race"
   "welcome to the starting point"
    congratulatory cheers!
    the world applauded!

fingers investigatively scratched alluring fruity decor surface
pleasing patterns presented in empty bowl
by deceptive sight seeking vindication
from the high court of flabby tongue
hosting unwavering snitch of a taste bud negating beguilement of sadistic bowl
flower not a food was the verdict

fling of frustration ensued as
speechless toddler hurl empty vowels
thrashing rage pulverised the bowl
against the hard earth by emaciated arm
soliciting the attention of a heedless grandma
unflinched by familiar outburst unworthy of consoling response

light at the end of tunnel
when familiar figure heave in sight
dust sprayed face of a sisterly love expressed foreign smile

baby hastily locomotes towards receptive
soothing lullaby
cuddlle with sibling's affection
rhyming lung of a learner sister reads
the lyrics of the day
  
" pad meet rag equals
  foreign meet local
  like souvenirs for a vote
  when representative of women
  presents sanitary pads today

bloodless girls plenty in the land
where babies refuse to sleep and
watch the world orbit around

where empty bowl prank a child    
who blames the bowl
that blame the ***
that blame grainless granaries
the opulence of the governor's office
where fragrance swirls ends
the lullaby of blame game
and the the prank of the dancing bowl"

    by sadik sheikh

tremor violently shook the ground
quake ruptures the earth
doors banged as windows swayed aimlessly
glasses shattered
tables shifted

mother earth groaned
building collapsed upon a household
family frantically screamed under the rubble
yet strange eerily calm like a silent scream

sunset on gloomy October
six and a half moon past dusk
the epicentre of the earthquake i only arrived today albeit late
no permanent marker just a heap of fading soil like a shifting dune
but this flower always blooms
what a lush grave!

i scooped a handful of soil
symbolically infusing it with sacred memory
static still i stood like a stump
by the grave a day and half
involuntary tears trickle down
like a ceaseless rain down my cheeks

how did it happened brother?
mystery permeates through the body
mighty heart faltered
pressure rise and blood raged
brain shuts as a permanent sleep occured the family way
Overwhelmed arteries did a critical blood vessel ruptured?

calm before the storm lingering destiny disturbed the sleep
when agitated sky formed a teardrop impression on a drifting cloud
hovering angel of death pointed a laser pen down a sapient soul
shrapnels shrills in the wake of exploding stars
siren blows then a sonic boom
shooting star striked a patriarch with pinpoint accuracy
did the space war commenced on my family?
had illusions played a belligerent tricks on us?

doomsday upon us a fuming angel lands
with a roaring death ensued by a deafening cry
futile effort medics scrambled
to resuscitate a departed soul
no response
no replay
yet no rewind
as you skip the trial did the voyage of no return began?

two hours late did i read the news
impulsive tremor didn't a sudden apocalypse
seemed a vision to me?
only ten days later had i registered the event

meandering metaphors entwined in my story
tidal waves of poetic expressions in writing
sea of spontaneous emotions unleashed
chronicle of earthquake complete
comma or a colon
is a question mark missing?


how close you are brother!
A mere two meter deep or six feet between us
yet a distance universe of cosmic dust
perched in a looming heaven of beaming galaxies
soaring towards a remote planet
beyond the hearing range of life
you walked  a thousand  night straight
covered a million miles of cinematic landscape
like a flashlight through a wall, impenetrable layer obstruct my accent
gravity holding me back
how can i reach you brother?

can't gauge the depth of this black hole
tossed in a volatile void of grief and sorrow
i lost my bearing in this maze of vivid memories

you were my anchor
you were my  guardian too
allah show me the path
lord help me emerge from this shell
like a pupa out of a cocoon

this grave the epicentre of the earthquake
ground zero i stand
closure i seek
structure of simplicity this grave
holds a seismic story and the body of a pious man-my brother.
    
      tremor - by sadik sheikh