A queen's ghazal

Poetry, Oct '13
By Rajib Chakrabarti

A Queen's Ghazal is a rather unique experiment – suffering equally in bondage and soaring with a liberty that only a queen can know. Ghazal is an art form, which is as beautiful and lovable as it is difficult and limited. It is perhaps the structure inherent and the rich symbolism that is already available in Urdu, which makes the ghazal greatly easier to render in Urdu than in English. Despite breaking some of the bonds of ghazal-writing, the poet succeeds in expressing his deepest feelings beautifully and rhythmically, in this English ghazal – owais.

My fascination hidden by the barely perceptible difference:

the bouquet of rectangles feels no shame, blind to the now-invisible difference.

The warmth of the hand that would have rumbled through my soul –

was it withdrawn on suspicion of the risible difference?

Wounded twice a week by those who believe, though they love me,

that it is, like dollars, a convertible difference.

Mortified twice a year by the fundamentalist spear –

faith in keeping alive inconvertible difference.

The inner circle infected with loathsome, sickening vermin

dividing for pelf and glory indivisible difference.

A few earnestly labour to better the lives of those

being born to what is not yet preventible difference.

Dead silence marks the bonds of those who attempt

to bend a little the flexible difference.

I am waiting for the day when man's mind broadens to develop enzymes

to realize a tenth of himself is not indigestible difference.

Divine Mother! Unseeing to all laughable difference,

wipe off the tears that spring from our punishable difference.

Rajib Chakrabarti teaches English and hopes that scientific rationalism and secular ethics will one day replace religious dogma.

owais calls himself the ‘sucker for love’ – for knowingly, he not only trusts, but lives on that rainbow which does not actually exist.