1996-The Beginning of Dark Days Ahead

ON A BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY MORNING
Someone had told me, not long ago
That the dawn will always break upon the darkest hour
And the moon will always glow with a borrowed light
While some of us still refuses to learn
That the secrets of Life are only for the Creator alone?

So today I watched the roses bloomed as if I’ve never been on Earth before
And today the pale blue sky was bright blue again
As if to convey a sign (wrapped in a thousand question marks of course!)
That the first light will come to me again…

But still the pollens flew aimlessly
And still the wonders of the birds never failed to amaze me
While the sight of clouds flying above the unfinished housing developments
That used to be a lush plain that I once played on, will always be a sight for sore eyes!

Here I am standing, surrounded by the melodious warm wind
Watching as the sun slowly catches up to his schedule
Watching life unfurling as it should be

Here I am standing, feeling merry and jovial
As merry as the birds nesting on an illegal factory nearby, raising their young beside an Active, billowing smokestack
While watching me danced with the flying dust, from the strange looking cars driven by
Their strange looking drivers…

So the family cat had stroked my bare feet, as her litter played with the falling leaves
Before all of them suddenly darted away, caused by the sound of a fallen ripe papaya
And I, sensing that no one is around, quickly welcomed that fruit
Feeling every pleasure with every bite
Under the cover of the arriving haze…

And such were the feelings that I had
On a beautiful Sunday morning

THE SIGN OF SHAIRO
1996


THE SECOND CHANCE
(Written on the day I got kicked out of my first college)

I had failed once before
Had tasted the bitter taste of defeat several times
Had almost lost control of my own destiny once or twice
And had cried softly, in the roaring winds of apathy

I saw the path of my road ended in an avalanche of despair
But still I breathed in the air of hope around me
I saw darkness came creeping onto me once or twice
But with a wounded left eye I kept on going…

I saw how my whole world self-destructed before me
But none of my friends came to my mournful plight
And so I’ve learnt the painful art called betrayal
Something that never failed to ignite my anger even
After all these times!

But God is not a thunder, and failures are not forever
And so does everything sad and gloomy
As long as hope is still erect, upon your clenching fist

And as quickly as it came the thunder and lightning
I found myself in the light once again
But with all of its strength being bared before me
With no emotions or feelings, to describe or discourage it

I remember now, of all the streets that I have walked
Before in pitch darkness, now in a pale blue sky
And of the singing of the birds that is more melodious now
And remember clearly I am now, about the glorious past
And the future that’s yet to come

I thanked God for the miraculous guidance He gave me
That had brought me here by hope and patience that never wilted
And when all the celebrations are over
I know now, that I can touch the sky…

THE SIGN OF SHAIRO
MUAR
11th JANUARY 1996


THE RAISING OF THE FLAGS
(Written during the final years of the Balkan War/Genocide)

The field was quiet, as quiet as the sky above it
And the sun was rising with a fiery glow of gold,
Though in reality still weeps for yesterday
Concealing the fact that one land was lost, and its peace disturbed

And its citizens, now in poverty, are left
With nothing but grief, misery and agony,
Legacy of things that were not their fault…

But as the sun rose higher still, only then did
All the scars, the damages and the countless mass graves,
Manifested themselves to the eyes of the world
Legacy of an apathetic establishment called global village…

And although we, a country with but a small voice
Had went out of our way in order to help them
Risking a lot for this thing called humanity
They knew, and we knew, that the damage was already done…

But now, all is in the past, buried and mourned
And the tormented survivors of this unholy war are
Now looking forward towards a new dawn and a fresh start
And to raise the much fought flags high into the air once again
Before in the season of remorse
Today in the morn of rejoicing

And along with their long lost friends and families
They will resume their singing and dancing with gay abandon
Letting their hair down, singing their hearts out
Till their heartfelt merriment touched the face, of the majestic morning sun…

So once again I awaken from my thoughts
Feeling a mixture of hope and joy
As a pair of white doves with olive shoots in their beak flew merrily
Over the same blue sky
And ended up, behind the infinite horizon
That spanned before me…

SAIF MINTAKA
MUAR
1996


THE GOLDEN LACED TRUMPET
It all began from the sky
And endeth onto the silent earth
Where diamond mushrooms grow in abundance
Fed by sustenance from the meandering Caramel River

And on the night of the full moon
The Violet Raindrops shalt drench the silvery plains
Soaking the Silver Falcons towards wakefulness
So that they would seeketh once more the delectable Sang-froid Nectar
That floweth from the hidden valley in the thorny pass

But on the day of the drying cerulean dew
The Emerald Wind shalt germinate the Echo Flowers
That grows inside the reverberating Crystal Garden
And thus letting the Rainbow Snakes to breathe once more the light
Whilst happily resuming their carefree flight inside their only home in the land

So when the winter season cometh once more to the land
The Golden Laced Trumpet shalt spake to the clouds
Letting the Emerald Snowflakes to falleth onto the dry scorched plains,
Nourishing it as it should be

And an idlest of mind, shalt be fertile, once more…

SAIF MINTAKA
MUAR
1996