Best Ahmad Poems

Mirror
by Kajal Ahmad, a Kurdish poet
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

My era's obscuring mirror
shattered
because it magnified the small
and made the great seem insignificant.
Dictators and monsters filled its contours.
Now when I breathe
its jagged shards pierce my heart
and instead of sweat
I exude glass.



The Lonely Earth
by Kajal Ahmad
loose...

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A reminder to Nigerian current president, 
Oh ! Uncle president Bola Ahmad Tinubu, 
One of the  seniors African politicians 
who could direct the youths well not to hell.  
Your honorary doctorate in political science 
and diplomacy will continue making sense 
to the African youths if...

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Defenders Endangered

Citizens unite spirits; choose the better part!
Life, God given, stolen by greed’s black-heart.  
Industry progressed far beyond the pushcart.
Thus, setting some selves apart as better…smart.

The endangered protecting the endangered –
Compassion fettered by solutions gartered
The courageous, methodically hindered,
Lacquered lives, wildlife “murdered”, man endangered.

Watch helplessly,...

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The Eager Traveler
by Ahmad Faraz
translation by Michael R. Burch

Even in the torture chamber, I was the lucky one;
When each lottery was over, unaccountably I had won.

And even the mightiest rivers found accessible refuge in me;
Though I was called an arid desert, I turned out to...

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Speak
by Faiz Ahmad Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Speak, while your lips are still free.
Speak, while your tongue remains yours.
Speak, while you're still standing upright.
Speak, while your spirit has force.

See how, in the bright-sparking forge, 
cunning flames set dull ingots aglow
as the padlocks release their...

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There once was a Tree,
Happy as can be.

Even though this tree had no teeth,
It would still play with its friend Keath.

One unfaithful day,
Keath never came to play.

Tree worried all through the night,
Perhaps he'd finally given Keath a fright!

For how could it be,
That Keath love a...

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I traced along the battered spine,
But it was not in me
To brace along those tattered lines.

Much I tried to bare the bines,
As straight as I could be,
Caught laced, always, in those tangled vines.

Until – disarrayed – I broke, and heard the chimes.
I have learned to...

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Until the last light, I believe I shall remain,
A tune unplayed, in this dreary song.

During daylight and throughout the night,
A moment does not part from melancholy and I.

Should I leave or should I try,
I know what follows could not be felt as life.

Is there another...

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The lights that flare
Stain my stare.

How deep or true I care,
Pales to your new flare.

I have proven shallow,
Until I can be there....

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It wasn't there.
But I had it, didn't I?

I'd left it, I came back.
I let go, and now

It's no longer mine.
Where do I go from here?

Where do I go from here?
Where do I go from here....

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Lifted,
I felt the heat of the sun.
Falling,
I froze, scorched by the cold.

I held fast to all I had.
Or I tried.

I struggle to be thankful,
For now,
My elevated dreams fulfill me. 
I can say

That you didn't help me....

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Those footsteps that you left at the door,
Echo the last words I heard you say.

Turning to me, my eyes meet the floor. 
I needed to prove myself today.

Again, it was your hope that I tore.
I’ve proven who I am, to your dismay.

What I say, pitted...

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Within your arms,
I feel at home.

At last,

I can believe,
I'm not alone....

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I wash my hands with the waves
That come from day to day.

I look around & I see the sounds
Of my love that's come to play.

”It's been too long.” I say
As she dances her way

To my arms, but I fall as I wake.
Again, it is only...

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I jumped into a pit of fire
Only to find that my legs caught fire.

For sure, I thought it'd get my head
Where lay this hairy bed.

But wait, what's this?

At last, this head of hair
Went ablaze with such flair,
That I'll sing atop this chair!...

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