A little aloof I shall stay
Before another tempest hits the bay
Anchoring me down again
Into surplus societal pain

Sharing the ocean can get rough
Absconding high tides is tough
I need to gather myself in vain
Before I crash once again

So I shall breathe, smile and have a good time
And hold on to things that are mine
Whilst I cover up the timeworn stain
And soak my wrath in the rain!

-Zainab Attari

I visit my big blue bubble
When I need to shut down the world
I cuddle it so tight
It could choke or die by the end of the night

It tries to shake me out
So I pinch the big blue bubble
It bursts into a piercing laughter
Mocking my loneliness

It sets me free against my will
And I get tossed back to reality
It whispers through the winds
Guiding me to find happiness

So I break down the walls
And wear some optimism and venture beyond
Looking for somebody that cares enough
To cuddle me all their life

There are days I see my big blue bubble
That I happily burst it into a puddle

-Zainab Attari

The smallest coffins are the heaviest!
The smallest coffins are the heaviest!
No one wears stained clothes
No person likes stained walls
We make sure that they are cleaned
We make sure it is all stainless

But on a colourless Tuesday
Terrorists spilled red all over a school
They ransacked the classrooms
They set a teacher on fire

They shot aimlessly at tiny hearts and hands
They murdered their future
They banged bullets through budding brains
And all that was left were stains.

Terrorists stained crisply ironed uniforms
They spilled blood in corridors once filled with colourful paintings
They blemished the thoughts of little souls
They damaged the hearts of parents young and old.

Terrorists persist in staining their hands
They exult in staining their nation
They stain the meaning of Islam
They stain the words of Allah in the holy Quran

The redness of young blood will haunt them
These red pigments will soak them into hell
These blotches won’t be disregarded
These stains will sustain till eternity!

-Zainab Attari

Flooded and doomed alone I stand
Helplessly watching my people fall out of my hand
I wish I could quaff down this copious water
And save them all from this clutter

It takes me back to the bloodshed
When innocent Kashmiris time and again bled
For a war that thrived for my land and soil
Helplessly watching it made my heart coil

I wish to break into a million pieces
When I watch these sorrowful bruised faces
But I am the king of the north
I need to stand tall and face the wrath.

But oh Allah, tell me why do my people suffer?
Can you give me the power to buffer?
I, Jammu & Kashmir plead you to glorify us all
We cannot take another fall

I dream of a day full of joy
Where guns are never replicated even as a toy
I dream of freedom from all bad omen
Please bless each animal, child, man and women.

The people of Pakistan and India are welcome on my land
Only with friendly non-armed hands.
You have no rights to claim me
I am the creator’s property, you shouldn't break me.

The blaze of the sun cut through their flesh
Sun kissed sweaty skin and dehydrated lungs

Knelled and cried for mercy
The heavens answered their prayers

Loud thuds were heard like a roaring lion
Lightning struck like a shooting star

Their quench was put off
Soil's aroma spread; it rained.

A girl has a quirky image in the society,
If this image is broken she is labelled, you see.
This image was set since the rooting of womanhood.
A girl had to excel in all aspects as much as she could.

She had to be covered to stay away from evil eyes.
She had to obey her elders and say no lies.
She had to know how to cook and stitch,
And at an immature age she was forced to tie a hitch.

She could not express her emotions out loud,
She had to silently cry it all out.
She was never given respect,
She was killed as an infant in many backward sects.

She tolerated it all these years,
But till now there is no end to her bleeding tears.
She is labelled regardless of her deeds,
Criticism is all what the society feeds.

If she’s walking down the street,
Men out there will stare and mistreat.
If she doesn’t sacrifice and compromise she won’t get anywhere.
She can never wonder fearlessly here and there.

She has been set within boundaries always,
If she tries to erase them she’s taunted in every way.
If the child is deformed, why is it only her fault?
If her husband dies, why does her life come to a halt?

Why do women suffer the most in every nook and corner?
Why is she not treated with honor?
Have men forgotten that women gave them birth?
Why are women always a target? Hello, she too gets hurt!

Yes, women are emotionally strong,
But that so doesn’t mean she’ll take blame for all the wrongs!
She is a human like us all,
Can’t you catch her when she trips and falls?

She has equal rights by the constitution,
But still she’s struggling for a better position.
When will women in the world stop crying?
When will she start to live each day rather than dying?

Will women ever get some relief from all the pain?
Will she ever be free from all the everlasting vain?
Yes, many have accomplished and done a lot!
But there are still a million who just cannot.

I plead to the one’s who read this today.
Don’t label women no matter what they do or say!
Respect their views and choices.
Let them be heard when they raise their voices.