Oh! I had a magic wand

Manzoor Akash 

I WISH I had a magic wand,

To fetch a piece of land.

Not any where but in my own town,

Just to make it a crown.

Two big obstacles that my town has,

Traffic jamming and vendor craze.

Getting stuck up in the gridlock everyday,

Has become so inevitable to keep at bay.

Blowing horns and vendor calls,

Everyone mourns before worst falls.

O! I had a magic wand,

Waving which I want to fetch a land;

For all the hawkers that make a band.

Then I shall use that land for various purposes

Like restoring traffic and hawking causes.

Oh! I had a magic wand,

With which I can find a piece of land.

To dump all the sold waste;

That people on Jhelum banks paste.

These honking horns have fed me up,

These mounds of garbage has pestered my life

This noisy vendors’ tout—

This snail’s traffic compels me to loudly shout!

This wrong parking, this polluted water,

These open manholes, this polythene scatter.

These polluted drains, these stray dogs,

Is all a nuisance that clogs?

Oh! Years back it was not like this,

It grieves me, it grieves us all—

But if we all wake up and act,

This town will be gorgeous in fact.

Let’s not blame, let’s not be shame,

Let’s rather tame and restore every place, its fame.

Oh! I had a magic wand,

With which I can find a piece of land.

Only to make my land something grand,

O! God, turn my dream into a wonderful land

(Manzoor Akash is teacher by profession. He is a poet, columnist, critical analyst and author of several books in English and a recipient of National Peace Award. His works currently focus on social issues, Kashmir’s cultural heritage and elderly citizens with a growing interest in storytelling. He hails from Rafibad and can be reached at manzurakash@yahoo.co.in)