I am Kashmir, secluded and chained

I am Kashmir, secluded and chained.

I was a paradise now I am surrounded in uncertainty.

My inhabitants are pushed to a dark bend of no return.

The murky nights persist casting its vicious spell on its people.

And morning breeze is now a dream. Days are gone, nights exist.

Like a black hole, nothing comes out from me as traped.

No word, not a whisper, neither a sigh nor a lament can I do

What I witness suppressed cries, the beating of chests & a silent Eid.

The dawn in my lap is now a delusion, a distant dream.

Darkness is my future, internment my destiny.

O’ the civilized world, look at my soul and eyes.

It is deeply hurt, crushed and battered by occupational forces.

I am in chains, imprisoned and impounded by liberal minds.

Inside the barricade walls where the air has been blocked.

Come to my rescue and set me free from the clutches of my oppressors.

                                                                                              Sumera B. Reshi