Sukoon na aaye hum sukoon ki thaur chal diye
Subah raushan na hui hum uthe Shams ki oar chal diye

Sadness is self motivated, persistent, independent just like happiness but the difference between the two is like the difference between the soothing water and the igneous oil. One calms us down and if not spread intentionally the drop stays put, but sadness spreads without effort like a drop of petrol, non-cohesive spreading around and seeping through thinnest of cracks

Ek lamha

Zindagi jo mili kal do lamha jee li

Jaam-e-nazar na sahi dhalti oas ki boond pi li

Poori kahani na sahi kuchh panne mile so padh liye

Kal ka khwab na dekha aaj ki khumari me khush ho liye

Khanabadosh hain hum
Bemanzil safar hai hamara
Jahan dil bhare do boond paani piya karte hain
Jahan saans aaye do pal baatein kiya karte hain

Jaana bahut door hai is dil ko doston
Jahan aahein milein do dum saanse liya karte hain

Storm knocks

A storm knocks at the door of a burnt hut
The inmate sits inside clutching tightly the last of the belongings left after the all engulfing fire
If the door opens it will be refreshing
The storm will be a breath of fresh air
Will dust the gutted hut of it's ashes.
Will sweep the lines of past sadness from the face
But then
Apprehension
Caution
Jeopardy
The feet two steps towards the bolted door and one step back
Lest the storm might take away with it the last of the belongings
The storm may wipe away the hut itself leaving in its wake no place to go
No place to sit with clenched fists and head drawn in
No door left to expect more subtle knocks
The storm knocks softly now
The round of questions ensue again

यक़ीं

है असर कुछ ऐसा आज की हवाओं में
यक़ीं नहीं कि सुकून मिले एक रूह को क़ब्र में
न परछाई का भरोसा न निगाहों का
गर साथ होगा तो बस अंदर का ख़ुदा उस आख़री सफ़र में

पर है अंदर ख़ुदा तो क्या बिसात रात की
कौन कहे कल अंदर का यकीं न बने सूरज गगन में
कौन कहे जो आज सैलाब बनके क़हर बरपा रहा है पानी
आज अश्क़ बन उमड़ा है
कल फूलों में ज़िन्दगी बनके न मुस्काएगा चमन में

कौन कहे जो सर्द हवाएँ आज मौत बाँट रहीं हैं
कल ज़िन्दगी की साँसें बनकर न महकेंगी बदन में
कौन कहे जो नक़ाब आज रुला रहा है
यकीं पर से यकी चुरा रहा है
कल किसी दोस्त का चेहरा बनकर न साथ आएगा ग़म में

This is something I had written in 2011 on iTimes
 

She

She has so much within to shower
But the soul that triggers her is only the one which doesn’t need to be quenched
She is the moonlight,
but the luminescence that draws her is the sun itself.
She so yearns to be awaited, to be sought eagerly.
But what pulls her is calm personified
She revers the desire of the first man for the first woman
What enthralls her is the monk like poise
She is the river itself, but what satiates her is the thirst for the sea
She revels in wisdom, but what enlightens her is the conquest of the curious man