Response Poem 1: Rubina

(Response to The Dacca Gauzes by Agha Shahid Ali)

Rawalpindi Resham

ਚਾਨਣ ਦੀ ਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ ਤੋਪਾ ਕੌਣ ਭਰੇ
- Amrita Pritam / Chanan di Phulkari

Unending shades of orange and yellow
reminders of many sunsets gone by
My heart heavy as I sigh

Each triangle making a square
a part of you, a part of me
taken apart over a century

Each thread held by ancestral hands
Resham weaves with each word
Oh the stories you must have heard

Crossing borders and breaking barriers
Parnani, nani, mummy, and I
Held you dear as we cried

I think of how you traveled passport-less
To Allahabad, Ambala, Chandigarh, from Rawalpindi
As the sun again gets coloured with my phulkari

A part of you
a part of me
partitioned yet
woven together


Comments

  1. preetiApril 12, 2019 at 11:35 AM

    The beginning of the poem is perfect way to set the stage for the poem exploring and preserving past through words. It seems your reminiscence of the bond with home and heritage is completely in sync with the Shahid's poem on which you have responded.
    The reference to Phulkari has made the poem more beautiful as it has given depth to the cultural context of the poem.

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