Dare I Write an Ode to Agha Shahid Ali?
A book on you just arrived.
Solid in a nebulous
Pandemic Night when nothing holds
Upright, wide awake, I read on.
You having written, lie sleeping forever
In a silent garden nearby
Childhood compatriot
Of Cashmere and Sufi pearls
And carnivorous cuisine
Your flamboyant concoctions
Served with mesmerizing poetry
Incredulous applause. Mind and body.
Reaching for the moon
You brought it down to us
Along with a snatching of stars
Lit by this dazzling literary infusion
We glowed in the dark
Of our comparative incompetence
“I don’t get your verse now!
We wrote as children but you
Went to the stratosphere.
Ghazals, Villanelles, Canzones?
Some forms I get, most not, though
The words shine through,” I said.
“You will one day” you said. I did.
New York University Memorial.
Eminent poets recite. You knew?
A Sufi, prophet son of Sufia!
Supine you stand tall above us all
Rest well, the best are far behind.
Amherst, 2021.
Sudha Koul is author of Tiger Ladies: A Memoir of Kashmir.
This article went live on August third, two thousand twenty one, at fifty-six minutes past five in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
