Are tumhe dekha aj to lga ye sab tumhe bta du.
Haq hai nhi mera koi phir b thoda haq jata du ..
Or kehdu tum behad khoobsurat **.
Ye jo tumne akhon ke kajal ko b palko ki had me dal rakha hai.
In aankhon ne jane kitna kehar sambhal rakha hai.
Kya chamak hai aankho me jaise ek choti si khush duniya ka sapna paal rakha hai.
Socha cheru thoda tumhe or thoda sata du.
Are tumhe dekha aj to lga ye sab tumhe bta du.
Haq hai nhi mera koi phir b thoda haq jata du ..
Or kehdu tum nazneen **.
Phir kuch tumhare galon k un khaddo ki gehrayi dekhi.
Na us se gehri koi khaayi dekhi.
Nazar htane wala tha k us muskan ne rok lia..
Muje aj sambhalne se pehle tere chehre nadan ne rok lia.
Jane tumhe ye sab kehna lagta hai khata kyu.
Are tumhe dekha aj to lga ye sab tumhe bta du.
Haq hai nhi mera koi phir b thoda haq jata du ..
Or kehdu tum dilnashi **.
Vo choti si kali bindi jo thik maathe k me kahi hai.
Vo b har shayar ko kheench rahi hai.
Jaise muje kehti ** idhar aao tumhe kano k jhumko ka pta du.
Are tumhe dekha aj to lga ye sab tumhe bta du.
Haq hai nhi mera koi phir b thoda haq jata du ..
Or kehdu tum dalkashi **.
Ye phir thode uljhe thode suljhe baal hai.
Inki to ada hi bemisal Hai
Tumhe tang karte hai.
Manmarji chalate hai jaise tujse jung karte hai.
Chere pe aate hai tum unhe phir peeche karti.
Kabhi clip se kabhi rubber se kheenche rakhti **.
Kabhi aaye chehre pe to shayad main b hta du.
Are tumhe dekha aj to lga ye sab tumhe bta du.
Haq hai nhi mera koi phir b thoda haq jata du ..
Or kehdu tum koi kehkasha **.
Or vo sone ki nath ko koi
kaise taal sakta hai.
Jise tumne apni teekhi si naak me daal rakha hai.
Or kuch batein in sab se pare hai.
Tera chutkan sa Gussa hai jane tu kaise handle kare hai.
Phir vo pyari si hasi vo sharm haya  vo bachpana vo nadaniya.
Samjhdari vo nasamjhi
Vo adayein vo shaitaniya.
Or sambko tumne brabar rakha hai.
Jane ye hisab kaise lagakar rakha hai.
Kya kehna hai kya sunna hai kya bolna hai kya btana.
Kab ruthna hai kab manana hai kab satana hai kab jatana hai.
Teri har ek choti moti khoobiyon ne dil me aatank macha rakha hu.
Jane tune kitne salo se khud ko ishq se bacha rakha hai.
Jane mujme kab se or kyu ye thode guroor k lakshan aaye hai
K tuje suna sabne hai samjh sirf hum paaye hai.
Tum jaisa or koi mere aas paas ni hai.
Phir kaise manliya jaye tum aam ladki ** tum me kuch  khas nahi hai.
Ha aj maine ek kadam apne beech ki sarhad se thoda bahar aaya.
Tumne apna hunar azmaya tha vo pic dalke use shayri bnake maine apna hunar aazmaya hai.
ye padhke tum socho k inam du is shayar ko ya koi saza du.
Are tumhe dekha aj to lga ye sab tumhe bta du.
Haq hai nhi mera koi phir b thoda haq jata du ..
Or kehdu tum afreen **.

Tum khoobsurat **.

Mai phul hu agar meri khushbu ** tum,
Tum bin adhure hain hum sanam.

Jaan hain hum tou rooh ** hamari tum,
Tumse judi hai zindagi saaton janam.

Is dil ki awaaz ** tum,
Sirf tumhare hain hum.

Tumse pyaar beinteha karte khuda kasam,
Rishta hai hamara janam janam.

Aapki hard rag see waakiff hain hum,
Hamare lahu ke har katre mein ** sirf tum.

Hamare naam ki pehchaan hai tumse,
Khushnaseeb hain hum jo khuda ne.

Milaya hai is jodi ko shiddat se,
Dil se dil tak bandhe hain ek duje se.

Hamare haathon ki lakeere hain ek si,
Bigaad nahi skti kuch meelon duriyan bhi.

Har imtehaan ek dusre ka haath thame,
Himmat atoot hai jab hain saath mein.

Mere haath mein jab hai tumhara haath,
Maut se bhi lad jaane ki taaqat hai saath.

Aankho mein khwaabo ka dariya tum **,
Saanso ka ye rishta pyaara hai mujhko.

Haathon ki chudiyan tumse hain khhanakti
Pairo ki payal tumse hain chhanakti.

Is maathe par sindoor hain sirf aapke naam ka,
Sagar ki gehrayi se gehra hai rishta hamara.

Mere is dil ki har dadhkan mein hai aapka basera,

Mere sajan jaldi se aajao baandh ke sehra.



Aapki dulhan ko hain zindagi bhar sirf aapka intezaar,

Is sacchi shiddat ka andaaza khuda bhi nahi laga sakta itni h beshumaar.



Itni pavitra aatma hai aapki ki dil karta niharti rahun,

Aapke bin ek pal bhi raha nahi jaata kya karun?



Ye dil sirf aapko talaashta,

Nahi hai koi khwaiysh ya abhilasha,



Nahi chahiye kuch sirf aap chahiye,

Nazar na lage kisi ki aapko jaan aye meriye.



Mehandi aapke naam ki mere haathon mein saje,

Maathe par sindoor humesha aapke haathon se lage.



Khushnaseeb hai ye bandi jisne aapko paaya,

Aap mile tou poora ** gya meri rooh ka saaya.



Mai mai na rahi hum bn gayi,

Aapki dadhkano se ye saanse chal rahi.



Le jao apni sangani ko apne sang,

Basi hai rooh aap mein mast malang.

It was the way she looked at me when I first met her
Her eyes had a dangerous calmness 
They were like the big ocean under the clear blue sky
An unending expanse of beauty with the sun dancing playfully on her waves
Even the wind blew silently as if to not awake her from her afternoon nap.
If Jonah had sailed across, I bet he would have continued to Nineveh.
I always wondered what it would feel like to swim across  through the stillness
And feel the layers of water caress my skin as I listen to the warmth of the music from her waves.
Or what it would feel like to dive into the cradle of her very depth
And see the beauty that she held within, hidden safely from the fangs of the outside world.
I wanted to see what would make her dance like a mad woman in the market square
Or what would rile her and set her off like a whirlwind in the desert.
But, i am a shy man and i could not hold her gaze.

©Maathe

Writing is hard!
Sometimes, an idea comes to mind
like a strong itch in the back
the one that needs you to scratch it vigorously
or rub your back against a rough surface like a goat
but you ignore it because it's just that; an idea.

On a random day, you get inspired
and finally decide to write something
because it has been months since your last piece.
You decide that maybe you will write about the rain
about how you longed for it as a child.
Because then, you would take off your clothes
and run around singing nursery rhymes
unbothered by how you would be shivering later that night.

But you are an adult now, and dancing in the rain no longer excites you.
You now see rain as an enemy, an impediment to your adult plans.
You had wanted to go out with friends to an open concert
but now have to choose between sleeping and folding your clothes.
Besides, when it rains, your electricity is disconnected
and you have to endure hours of darkness
as you wait for that perennial fault to be fixed.
So, you see, you cannot write about the rain.

Or maybe you will write about flowers.
About how you loved plucking them on your way to school.
About how their scent filled the air in your father's compound when it rained.
About how you rubbed the red and yellow petals
on those love letters that you sent to your crush
the one who snorted everytime she laughed.
But now, you no longer love the smell of flowers.
because they remind you of death
and the unending pain and uncertainty that comes with it.
The last time you held a flower was when you were plucking its petals throwing them one by one into the grave
as you sent off your best friend who died in a car accident.
So, you see, you cannot write about flowers.

Or maybe you will write about love
But then again, what can you really share
besides the fantasy you always hold onto every night before you sleep.
The one of you playing with your daughter in the tall grass
and your wife taking pictures to frame for your grand children to see.
However, the last time you were in love, you almost died
because she stabbed you after going through your phone
and seeing those messages you sent to Natasha.
The one with the eyes like those of a calf
The ones that you looked into and did not know what to say.
But you found the words and those got you stabbed.
So you see, you cannot write about love.

Finally, you decide that you will write about God
About how his love is the purest you have known
and how it has kept you standing even when your feet became clay
You want to write about how this love formed scars of your wounds
and touched your failing heart when the machines in your hospital room beeped in monotony.
You want to write about how when your lungs almost ran dry
a new breeze was blown into them bringing you back from the edge of the abyss.
After a few lines of writing, you realise that you are unable to put your thoughts into words.
What you have written down feels disrespectful
It is a grain of sand compared to the mountain you had envisioned.
So you tear the papers and flush those thoughts down the toilet.
You then get up from your desk and pick a cold beer from your old fridge
And do what you have always done best; drink!

©Maathe

There are days you will look in the mirror
and you will not recognize the face you see.
When you will sing in the shower
and the melody will fade quietly into the air
leaving you only with the cry of a dying man.
But, you will be blind to it all
or rather, deaf
because it is just a song to you.
But, that is the problem with songs
for sometimes, they are a reflection of our spirit.
On some days, they will come with the full force of a youthful river
tearing through the rocks as it heads to the sea to meet its calm lover
the one whose bed is soft and warm like a heap of wool.
On other days, they will come like a dark cloud that covers the heavens
and makes the sun creep back into its castle in fear and shuts its doors
because she knows that the rains will not be for children to dance in
nor make paper boats that sail with the tide of the flowing water.
She knows that these are the rains that will last hours on end
falling quietly and yet, ferocious like a serpent
that waits for its prey in the long grass where the goats graze.
She knows that the skies will be dark and the houses will flood
with angry water that will take away the little children
as offerings to Njaa, the hungry god.
And when they finally stop, the village will be quiet with grief
because everyone lost their voice wailing in the rain
begging the water to return their children.
And, when morning comes, parents will bury their children in silence
without priests to say the final prayer.
When you start singing this type of song,
I hope you will not stop.
I hope you will go on and sing every word until the very end.
Maybe then, you will know.



© Maathe

Bani rahu suhagan humesha,

Yhi hai dil ki pyaari si aasha.



Sajan mera mehfooz rahe,

Yhi dua mera dil kare.



Maathe ka sindoor,

Chehre pr pyaar ka noor.



Haathon ki mehandi,

Kalai ki chudi.



Gale ka mangalsutra,

Humara rakshautra.



Jodi humari humaesha salamat rahe,

Har janam mein hum par haqq sirf unka rahe.

It was the early morning breeze at the mountain top
The one that blows against your face
As you smile at the distant horizon
Watching the orange sun awaken from its slumber
With the birds in the valley below
Starting to sing, one by one
And slowly combining for a beautiful melody
One so pure and beautiful
That it fills your heart with a unique ecstasy
Like the orchestra you watched on your sixth birthday.
To your parents, this was an ordinary birthday gift
But to you, this was the moment.
This was the first time you fell in love.

It was the large tree in the middle of the lonely field
Branches spread out like arms as if to show the size of her heart
It had a shade like none I had seen
For within, you could listen to the whispers from the leaves
Tales of all those that had sought shelter
But left suddenly like they had come
Leaving only a scratch on the bark
A mark  that would later become permanent
Just to show that they were there but not there
To them, it was a label
But to her, it was another mind wrenching heartbreak
One she would have to shed her leaves for
And be reborn in the next season’s rain.
I always told myself I would be better
Because I always found peace in this place.
Here, I was finally free and nothing but a man.
I could sob without a care
Confident that the wind would not blow away my tears.
I could speak and watch with wonder
At the leaves roaring with laughter
And when I lay in the warm embrace that was her branches,
I did not dream of the fun times I had as a young boy
Dancing around naked in the mid afternoon rain
Nor of the wild times spent grazing the drunkard’s cows.
I instead dreamt of the future
Of me playing the flute to my favorite song
My grandson seated a few paces away
Smiling with tears in his eyes
Knowing fully well that this was the place.
This, was where love was pure.

©️Maathe

There was a time I was angry with God
And I wanted to challenge him to a fight
I had cried out to him on those dark lonely nights when sleep eluded me but he never answered.
He stayed quiet like the darkness.
You see, I was tormented and needed his refuge
but he stayed silent each time I called.
I wondered what kind of God would watch his child crushed down by pillars of heavy concrete
and have their skin pecked at by starved vultures but still not interfere.
If he was the Almighty, he would surely move a few pieces and the tables would turn.
Or, maybe, he would come like a gentle song in a cold wind
and the sound would comfort me.
But no, he stayed silent like an owl on a lamp post.

Slowly, my anger suffocated me and filled me with the rage of a whirlwind
And all I wanted to do was punch through his ribs with the force of a King's chariot escaping from the battlefield.
Maybe that would shock him out of his daydream and get his attention
Plus, I knew he could take it.
And so I called him out to the arena
the one where I had been crowned the wrestling champion when I was 12.
I asked him to step out of the shadows in the sky if he indeed is God
But just like before, he remained silent
As he always was when I made love to my lover in the violent rains of April.
I screamed his name again, this time calling him Jehovah.
Thinking that his insolence was because he might be picky with names
And, just like before, he did not come.

Finally, I stared up at the sky, straight into the sun
because I wanted to show him that I was a more than a man now
And the sun did not scare me
I believed that maybe if I stared long enough, he would blink
And reveal himself behind the sun.
I shouted out to him and beat my chest five times like an angry ape.
Remembering how Jacob had once wrestled him from dusk till dawn and did not relent
So I thought that I too, stood a chance.
This time, I wanted to be the one to break his hip
And make an eternal name for myself
But God did not show up.
Only He knows why.

©Maathe