Monday, March 31, 2014

to the Inconsequential!!



Certain silly minds, sometimes circle around me
Have hatred in heaps,& gossip shabbily
Their rudeness much salient, back-bite patently
Everything stemming out as a green envy tree.
To all such haters, to all these loathers
You can do better, & you can’t disagree
Why keeping your mind so full of me?
Don’t you feel yourself, my hate’s abductee?
About such poor souls, what I can foresee
I shall be dwelling in their minds, all fare-free.
(Samima Shah-Faheem)

Friday, March 28, 2014

Love!!



An emotion that takes thousands of forms
One time loads of cheers at others raging storms
Filled with tears of joy, lacking stability of norms
It’s a lifeline for us all, leave age or time alone

It reaches mountains in a leap, while touching sky from Rome
Some wander wild in search, other contented to roam
Some say you reach heaven, other‘s destiny was home.
Life itself searched the meaning, impossible was an epitome

It crushed few integrals to pieces
 Brought oneness where order wasn't known
Kings and peasants stand alike in its reign
Who conquers its mystery, will rest this throne.
(Samima Shah-Faheem)

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Pleasures in Life!!!



There are certain pleasures in  life
Glamorous n charming, enough to excite
Taste so finest, devouring’s a single bite
And fragrance so lovely, brings wonders in  sight.

Indulgence sure dire,
No second thoughts even slight
It’s a game well played, and fair from both sides
Yet no one's a winner, earned was mere plight.

Why their beginnings so delectable
Why their ends are overnight
An ode to desire is too hard to rewrite
Where ups and downs both burned by spotlight.
(Samima Shah-Faheem)

Monday, February 24, 2014

King Bruce!!

Robert the Bruce, known as Robert I after becoming king of Scotland, was one of the greatest kings of Scottish history. His achievement in rallying the Scottish nation behind him in resistance to the English is all the more remarkable by his lack of resources at the time of his revolt in 1306. The revolt was defeated, Bruce's lands were confiscated and he became a fugitive. The story of his wanderings is very much embroidered with traditions and legends: the best known is the tale of his watching the spider while he was in hiding on Rathlin Island (now in Northern Ireland), and drawing inspiration from the perseverance of the spider in spinning her web. Gradually he recruited followers again, and in 1314 won at Bannockburn the greatest victory that Scotland had ever won or was to win over England. Fourteen years later Bruce secured a treaty with England recognizing the independence of Scotland and his right to the throne.

The following poem about Robert the Bruce and the Spider is from To Read & to Tell, edited by Norah Montgomery (Arco Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 1964):






When Bruce, King of Scotland, was getting the worst

Of the war he was waging with Edward the First;
When most of his friends had been captured or slain,
And the sky of Scotland looked very like rain;

When he spent his days hiding in bushes and trees,
Getting thorns in his fingers and cuts on his knees,
And when nothing could lighten the gloom he was feeling -
He lay in a cave and looked at the ceiling.

He stared at the ceiling with thoughts that were black,
Till a spidery spider came out of a crack,
A spidery spider all bulging with thread,
Which she started to spin on the beam overhead.

She spun the web once, but the spider-thread broke;
She spun the thread twice - Bruce's interest awoke;
She spun the web three times with pluck unavailing;
She spun the thread four times but still went on failing.

She spun the web five times - "My goodness!" cried Bruce,
"Yon spidery spider must see it's no use!
O Spidery, spider, it's plan as a pike
We two are as like as two peas are alike!"

She spun the web six times - "How now!" cried the Scot,
"Don't you know when you're beaten?" The spider did not.
But calmly proceeded, as patient as ever,
To start on an obstinate seventh endeavour.

She hung and she swung and she swayed in the air,
While Bruce for the Spider could not help but stare -
Then he whooped with delight and he sprang to his feet,
For from one beam to another the web hung complete!

With hope he was filled and with courage he burned.
"O spider!" he said, "What a lesson I've learned!
Dear Scotland! Of English invaders I'll rid it!"
Then Bruce sallied forth and at Bannock burn did it.



SOURCE
"Bruce and the Spider," from Favorite Tales of Long Ago, retold by James Baldwin (E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc.: New York, 1955), pp. 18-20. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 55-6511.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Pretty souls!!

( This poem is dedicated to my sister Hijab and my friends.)




You 'r working in perplexing circles of time
Days past by and now  night’s in decline
While looking after your loved ones
Nothings clandestine
I want you all to know,
You are beautiful, more than words can define.

Worn out by people’s slandering
 Weary in hatred twirled vine
Standing erect and heading to your path
One needs an iron spine
I want you all to know,
You are beautiful, more than words can define.

We have things in common, though paths very different
Our goals though vague, certain things bade align
It will get better, this too shall pass
Things  meant to happen in nature’s design
I want you all to know,
You  are beautiful, more than words can define.
(Samima Shah-Faheem)