When I Go for Walks

When I Go for Walks

by Rizwan Ahmed Memon

The purity of snow,

Reminds me

Of your innocence.

The silence

Engendered by cold,

Reminds me

Of your silence.

The still air,

Helps me

Recall your touch.

The rustle

Of the leaves

In the trees--

The crackle 
Of the leaves

Beneath my feet--

Make me feel

The sounds

Of the bangles

In your arms.

The howling wind,

The foggy fields,

The bubbling stream,

The creaking branches,

The rustling leaves,

They all make me

Miss you so--

When I go

For walks

In the fall.

The Sun Went Down

The Sun Went Down

by Rizwan Ahmed Memon

Oh, the sun went down—

The birds came back to their nests,

But I see no portent of your arrival.

Oh, my heart cries again—

My tears fall again.

Each day I see your way—

But you appear form nowhere.

Oh, the ringing bells around the necks of the cows

Tell that the end of the day has come—

But our separation from one another still continues.

In the Fall

In the Fall
by Rizwan Ahmed Memon

You had said you would come in the fall
When due would be on the flowers--
When the wind would blow from the north--
And when the nights would be cold.

Oh, my love. Please come back
Because I see the pollen on the trees--
The due on the grass in the fields--
And my nights are cold, too.

You had said you would be back
When the days would be short--
When the snow would start--
When the fog would blur the streets.

Oh, my friend. Now the days are short--
The snow falls on the mountains--
And the fog is in the valley--
Please somehow return now.

You had said you would arrive
When the river would flow smoothly--
When the water would dry--
When the sand would appear on the banks--
When the Siberian birds would come.

Oh, my precious. I find no waves--
The water is only at the bottom of the river--
The sand shines in the warm sun--
And the foreign birds in flocks have reached.

Oh, my life. Come back--
Before the fall ends--
Before the flocks flight--
Before the heart stops.

Where are You Now?

Where are You Now?

by Rizwan Ahmed Memon

Once you promised

To be by my side always, my friends.

Now that tough times have come,

Where are you now?

I cannot hold back my tears--

I cannot stand tall--
I am breaking.
Where are you now?

Once you were my companions
At all gatherings.
Now no one is around
Where are you now?

Once when I had a lot of wealth and fame
You had a lot of time for me.
Now that my pockets are empty
Where are you now?

Once you phoned me every day
Why my number is not in your phones now?
My friends,
Where are you now?

In the Search of a Job

In the Search of a Job

by Rizwan Ahmed Memon

Traveling to different cities,

Appearing at different tests and interviews,

A fresh graduate from university--

Tried very hard to get a job.

He studied at the library for hours,

And read the job ads in the newspapers.

Hoping to find vacancies, he turned page after page.

Days went by he kept looking for a job.

Sometimes he passed written tests,

But failed in interviews.

Sometimes his knowledge worked,

But his luck didn’t.

Sometimes his spirit

Struggled and dwindled.

Sometimes he collected himself

And kept searching.

He had a belief

That hard work bears fruit,

That the God’s mill grids slow but sure.

So he tried and tried and tired.