Innocence Behind Bars

Lurking behind the bars
He ,time and again remembers the day
The day when he was woken 
from his warm bed	
With a gun pointed at his temple
Startled, he heard the screams
of his wife from his bedside
Ruthlessly pushed down 
and dragged through the stairs
Rolled mercilessly into a military van
That was the last day ,he heard his wife…
her shrieking cries
Still after so many years, he does not know
why this happened to him
They told him that someone informed them
that he was a terrorist
While the truth was 
that he wasn’t aware of anything
He just knew, to live a simple life 
with his wife and family
Snatched from his nest ,
he lurks in a cold bed
No hopes left, since now he knows
That no one knows about his whereabouts
His kids and family are not even aware
Whether he is dead or alive
He has been now officially listed
in ‘missing persons’ list
His dreams snatched from his eyes
Innocence lurks behind the bars
And on the other side
A wife waits and hopelessly waits
for her missing husband


Note…my place Kashmir has witnessed unrest for two decades now…innocent people were taken from their beds and branded as terrorists by government agencies…most of the arrests had no paper work so there was no record of their arrests so no one knows where they are…though most of them were killed in custody and then buried in mass graves ,some of them may still be lurking in some unknown jails..The wife’s of such person’s are known as ‘Half widows’ here …hundreds  of such half widows are waiting for their husbands…
Copyright © | Year Posted 2012

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Kendrick Avatar
October 13, 2012 at 7:30 AM
Great work that is educational..Sad that this is happening ...No one should have to live in such fear..No one should be held as a prisoner when they did not do anything..Sara
Dietrich Avatar
October 13, 2012 at 1:47 AM
Irfana, this is truly a powerful poem that should be read by more people. I saw the movie today ARGO based on similar things, which happened in Iraq. So scary!!
Ali Bhat Avatar
October 13, 2012 at 5:18 AM
yes,Andrea...most of the world does not know about this coz media everywhere is biased...these half widows are worse than widows coz a widow has at least closure but a half widow is struck into oblivion...she cannot remarry or start her life anew coz the thought of her husband returning back someday holds her back from everything...xxx...
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