In the beginning was the Word,
And the Word was with God,
And the Word was God. (Holy Bible, John
1:1)
Hush! Hush! How
Does
A word
Break
Break
Its silence?
Does it behave like
An unruly boy at the last
Row of a crowded class?
Or a school teacher in hurry?
How does the word break its shell?
To unfurl its pock-marked heart.
Does it toss like a fish, caught
Fresh, in the hands of a fisherman?
Or the tail of a rounded eel?
What if the word were a
Woman?
A poor one,
Dreaming of a fine
Gold necklace from her lover.
Would you strangle her- in bed?
With your muscles,
Before dawn jumps in her shed.
Or would you be drowned
In her helpless breath?
Bark tonight! O heart! Bark!
With a spade, in memory’s field
Like a farmer, dig deep trenches
Only to unearth your memories
Like some fossils.
All day and night the word sings:
“I am neither the loosening of a song
Nor the close-drawn tent of music;
I’m the sound, simply,
Of my own breaking.” 1
(Ashaq
Hussain Parray)
1. Note: The last four lines
are from Mirza Ghalib
