Nightmare of Terror
We were on a college trip
Somewhere in the North East
Climbing the lush green, vegetation rich,
Mountains majestic, quiet and serene
Collecting samples of rare species
Of plants and fauna; watching
Birds nest in the lofty trees,
Recording their chirruping-
Each more melodious than the other
Gathering their plumage-
Each more colourful than the other
Each more exotic, some rare varieties...
Suddenly, there was a commotion
Gunshots were heard piercing the peace
And the serene mountains were filled with
Shrieks of terror echoing in the trees
The valley turned into horrendous being
Chirrups were replaced by human shrieks
The birds flew up from their trees...
Then they came rushing out
In their camouflage-fatigues
AK-47 and Kalashnikovs in hands
Their faces smeared black and green...
They started lining -people-up
Chose a few and lined them up
Against the lush green mountain tops
And with their machine guns
rattled bullets in their flesh soft
and some of our friends unsullied and young
had guns put into their mouths;
and we, more afraid to watch them
blow their brains out, then to die,
me and my friend began to run
and climbing a ruined fortress wall
we jumped on the other side...
From parapet to parapet we ran
We ran with all our might
We kept jumping down till we reached
The firm soft green ground...
We ran and ran scaling the cliffs
Negotiating the ups and downs
At top speed through the forest
With foliage tearing against our skins
Trees rustling, animals shrieking
Snakes slithering between our feet
But, we, oblivious, terror-stricken
Just kept ceaselessly trudging on...
Then some how we found ourselves
In the front yard of my friend's home
She quickly explained the situation to her kin
And taking the key to her car
We clambered in to it and started off
Driving through the lanes and by-lanes
Narrow alleys and vast planes
Through the dangerous mountain terrain
Through those undulating serpentine roads
At times broken by land slides
At times flooded by mountain streams
Over flowing following the rains
But we braved all and just drove on
Till we reached the railway track
And had no choice but to drive
On the very railway line
And then we suddenly saw the train
Heading at us at top speed
Whistling and chugging with
chimney of the heritage engine
Spewing black sooty clouds
And as the thought struck us-
Out of the frying pan into the fire-
With a massive jerk I woke up
First bewildered, I examined my surroundings
And found myself peacefully snuggled
In my soft feathered bed
With the covers of white lying over me
I smiled and took a big sigh of relief!
Why was it that I had such a dream?
I began to analyze the reason for it-
My Freudian instincts in full swing-
Is it my own fear of violent death?
Or, is it my way of sympathizing with
Thousands of my fellow men
Caught amidst the terrorist activities
Who die every day at their cruel hands
Of terrorists engaged in guerrilla war-fares
Naxalwadi's and ULFA warfare
Or, is it the result of watching the images
Flashed every day on the TV screen...
I do not know...
But, I do know this that I often wonder:
Why does man kill his own fellow beings?
Innocent and helpless and peacefully living
To gain his own, misplaced, political mileage
To satisfy his need for the savage in him
That at the behest of a few men in power
To gain their selfish ends
Thousands innocents die every day
And are sacrificed, at the altar of peace....
Author: Zoya Zaidi
Aligarh (UP), India
Copyright©: Zoya Zaidi
(On waking up sweating from a nightmare on
25.11.2008- 4.30am Pune, Maharashtra)
Poetry by Zoya Zaidi
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Written on 2009-07-31 at 20:31
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