GHAZAL : IMRAN YOUSUF

GHAZAL 

IMRAN YOUSUF 

I can feel the tears on

the lashes and the agony 

The palm, the pain, the

ashes, and the agony

Every day I wakeup 

with memorable memories 

Your adroit chats, my 

hogwashes, and the agony

I could no more hold the grief and 

wished to give it a vent The caring, the sharing, 

the whooshes, and the agony

I can still smell your

redolence on the bed The joy, the numbness, 

the toshes, and the agony

I didn't arrange the books that 

you scattered (at last) 

The pages, the torn leaves, 

the wishes, and the agony

I didn't sew the wounds

and that still bleeds at night 

The bruises, the separation, 

the rashes, and the agony

(Imran Yousuf is a poet, writer, columnist, and translator from Kashmir. His poems and translations have appeared in leading literary magazines and international anthologies, and he has co-authored over 30 collections. He is well known for his acclaimed series on Kashmir’s Sufi poets, now being compiled into a book.)