THIS CLOAK : Zakir Malik

THIS CLOAK 

Zakir Malik 

Like evening frost, I melted into winds,

I a supplicant's plea, whispered on a frayed rug,

Cliffed above a shaded wall in a broken cottage,

worn thin by boundless grief and unfinished wishes.

I was, though not, yet dissipated into my beloved,

And shed the cloak over my flesh and bones.

People seek me, though I'm dead to this world,

yet entwined in the divine veil. 

For my beloved has subsumed me, dancing alone. 

O' people, I hadn't danced ever, nor I had drank ever

Yet I'm destined to enthrine the strings, 

and drink the eternity through the light and dark.

I've surrendered reason's rigid grasp,

at love's wild altar, where logic's lost.

No surprise the moon's waves obey the sun,

Bowing low to love's omnipotent run.

I've danced with shadows, drunk the cosmic wine,

Now my strings vibrate with eternal design.

These verses are threads from timeless looms,

where success weaves patterns, like stars in the cold.

(Zakir Malik is a Kashmiri poet, author and critic, whose poems predominantly explores the interplay of nature, philosophy, and Kashmir's rich cultural heritage, as evident in his notable works, "The Wail of the Woods" and "Sail of Memories".