Four Walls

by Jamshyd Osman

The house is empty
Heart’s gone cold
The mantel’s gone dusty
Littered with spider webs & mold

An unusual feeling
Unwanted, Deserted
Involuntary tears
Of disgust & anguish
Guilt stuck at the throat
Another chance, another wish

Weaving tales of sorrow
A wasteful pastime
Bitter nothingness of tomorrow
No rhymes no smile

An oddity of emotion
Can’t dare to share
Errors in their judgment
Makes the truth look bare

Once these halls echoed laughter
Bore witness to joy
Nights & mornings after
Playing wild, playing coy

The romance of monsoon
Blessings after the gloom
Moments becoming hours
Tending to beds of flowers

We owe it all to Thee
That window of glee
I‘m glad that had to be
Both the bitter & the sweet
Wouldn’t have ventured any other street

Yesterday created today
Here now silence can only prevail
Echoes of yester-steps
Landmarks stay still as memoirs appear
Like an oasis in another hemisphere

Feels like a grave
Inside these heavy & lonely
Four walls

Unforgiven – Joi Bangla

Forward & Rewind
Hitting stop is a crime
This random play is cramping the growth of my mind
Entangled, entwined
A slave to the vibe

Advancing hindered by wine
The usual line
Enraged & nonsensical
Mind so fickle
Like an inconsolable child
In the abyss of vulnerability, I comply

The logical mind rejects
Yet the heart requests
Logic has its limitations
Whereas love is infinite compassion
Forgiving, kind
Logic is cold & regulated
Limited, blind

The intoxication of rage
Leaves trains of regrets
Scars remain
Even if time forgets

Anger & envy are satanic
Uncontrollable at times
Sins of the ancient
History of the impatient

The heart cries
Because its kind
The mind takes over & acts vile
A whisper guiding one to be unforgiving
The heart desires to be pleasant, to laugh & smile

The whisper returns unrelenting
Saying: to forgive is a crime