Four Poems by Farah Bashir

A Doppelgänger
Then,
you helped the lost ones
overcome
fear of floods

urged them to forgive
the river.

Now,
you curse
the daffodils
their violent scent
makes you ache.

‘Who Your Fire Burns’

A neighbor heard you
sing to me but you
laughed not caring
‘jalte hain jiske liye’

I recorded our laughter
for I read somewhere
during curfews
Love is mostly cursed

Don’t Remind Me of My Flaws

I crush
rose petals
for they make me
feel

inadequate
insecure
unloved

on the periphery
I crush even
the periphery

petals
remember me
a vile lover

merciless
vicious
bitter heart

trying
to keep
a vow
of love

To the Disappeared

Memory within a memory
a beloved
a mashouk
a bright band tied on forehead
waits for the rain
to reign

Farah Bashir, who has worked as a journalist in Singapore, was born and raised in the Kashmir valley where she loves to paint and write poetry to balance her work as a Brand Strategy Consultant in Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi

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