Miscellany #13 Longings, poems by Agha Shahid Ali and Faiz Ahmed Faiz
I have enough memories to drink coffee all by myself in a cafe so empty yet so crowded with the ghosts of those who have left but always stayed. -Mahmoud Darwish
From the Editor:
This poem explores the theme of love and its complexities through the metaphor of a Scrabble game. The narrator reflects on a past game where "love" and "gone" were played as words, symbolizing the dynamics of a relationship.
The poem takes a philosophical turn as it contemplates the consequences of breaking promises and the profound impact it can have on life. The reference to an "infinite prisoner's dilemma" suggests the eternal struggle between self-interest and cooperation in relationships. The narrator's quest to find a "Nash equilibrium," a state of balance, further emphasizes their ongoing search for harmony in love, even though it seems that love has disappeared.
The concluding lines reinforce the fleeting nature of the Scrabble game and its resemblance to a fading memory, drawing parallels to the fading presence of love. The poem as a whole conveys the bittersweet nature of relationships, where love can be both fulfilling and elusive, leaving the narrator with a sense of longing and uncertainty.
The Scrabble
Love Gone,
Gone Love,
7 points more, but she won.
It's been a long time since she's gone.
The last Scrabble game that we played is now like a morning haze.
I played "love" for 7 points,
She played "gone" for 6 points.
7 points more, but she won.
I believed it was a positive-sum game,
She thought it was a zero-sum game.
Who knew that breaking the promise of life and beyond
Could take on an infinite prisoner's dilemma kind of form.
I am still trying to find the Nash equilibrium, but love's gone.
The last Scrabble game that we played is now like a morning haze.
Postcard from Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali
Postcard from Kashmir" by Agha Shahid Ali is a poignant and compact poem that captures the essence of longing for home and the bittersweet experience of being separated from it.
Kashmir shrinks into my mailbox,
my home a neat four by six inches.
I always loved neatness. Now I hold
the half-inch Himalayas in my hand.
This is home. And this the closest
I'll ever be to home. When I return,
the colors won't be so brilliant,
the Jhelum's waters so clean,
so ultramarine. My love is so overexposed.
And my memory will be a little
out of focus, in it
a giant negative, black
and white, still undeveloped.
A Few Days More by Faiz Ahmed Faiz (Translated by Muntansir Dalvi)
The poem "A Few Days More" is a poignant English translation of the original Urdu poem "Chand roz aur meri jaan" by renowned poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Written during Faiz's time in prison, the poem was dedicated to his beloved wife, Alys Faiz. The translation of the poem has been skillfully rendered by Muntansir Dalvi, capturing the essence and emotion of Faiz's powerful words
A few more days, my love, only a few days more
It is our lot to live under the shadow of tyranny
To suffer this outrage, to bear this pain, to weep awhile
This legacy of our past is our cross to bear
Our bodies are confined, our emotions in shackles
Worry is a prisoner, Speech is proscribed
But there’s courage within us that keeps us going
It’s as if our very life is an indigent's rent garment
That needs to be patched with pain, time after time
But now these cruel times have almost run their course
This impatient longing is almost over
In this burnt desolation that is the world and its time
We have to go on, but not this way
The unbearable torment of unseen hands
Has to be endured for now, but not forever
This dust of sorrow that veils your beauty
This bounty of defeats on our fleeting youth
This worthless throbbing under moonlit nights
The futility of heartburn, the body's unheard lament
A few more days, my love, only a few days more