I am a Gaza Infant,

I am orphan,

War took away and killed my parents.

Md Ejaj Ahamed, a poet from Murshidabad, West Bengal, India shares his poetry 

Md Ejaj Ahamed is a bilingual poet, writer, journalist, teacher, editor and a peace ambassador, born on 26 February 1990 in a remote village Mahendrapur in Aurangabad of Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India. He did Honors in English, triple MA, B.Ed., and has been teaching for 12 years. During his college days, his Bengali-English poems and essays were published in the college magazine every year. His Bengali-English poetry, essays have been published in various magazines, journals, newspapers and joint poetry books. His poems have been translated into Turkish, Arabic, Korean, Chinese, Italian, Albanian, Tajik, and Hindi. He is author of several Bengali books. He is the chief editor of Swapner Vela Sahitya patrika (The Raft of Dreams Literary Magazine). He was a member of the editorial board of ‘International Sahitya Subarna’ magazine, and now he is a member of the advisory committee. He is the North Bengal editor of ‘The Quadri Times’ newspaper. He has gotten many awards and honorary doctorates from various organizations. He is ‘Ambassador of peace’ of WLFPH, ‘Global Ambassador’ of International Literacy Study Group (Bangladesh ), Member of Global Ambassadors of Sustainability and Certified Sustainability Office (Dubai), Member of International Peace Ambassadors Academy (Egypt), Ambassador- ‘Iqra Foundation’ (Jerusalem), Member of Peace of ‘International Academy for Peace and Human Rights’ (Egypt), Member- ‘Feather and Extender Humanity Academy’ Europe and Turkey Branch, Member- Global Friends Club, Ambassador for World Peace- Foundation Maria Gladys. He is also a moderator of ‘London Poets Club’ (England).

A Gaza Infant

I am a Gaza Infant,

I am orphan,

War took away and killed my parents,

It is not a war, it is an injustice,

The whole Palestine has been suffering from unjust outrage

For a long time.

 

I am a Gaza Infant,

I am orphan.

How much my parents fondled me!

They had dreams about me,

They wanted to make me an ideal human.

How happy were the golden days

Spent with my parents!

We had a beautiful house, beautiful trees in the courtyard.

 

I am a Gaza Infant,

I am orphan,

I had parents’ sheltering roof over my head like the ozone layer,

Dreamy days peeped in the heaven of my head,

Now all are destroyed,

The city has also been destroyed,

Now I am looking

At the blue sky with tears in my eyes.

***

Helpless Palestine

Winter has come with a blanket of fog,

The sun has risen in the eastern horizon,

Dew is smiling sitting on the green grass,

And glittering like a diamond.

 

The houses, fields, tress, birds,

Walkers are doing sun bathing;

 Morning welcomes

 All to a new day smiling.

 

With gay all are overwhelmed,

I am walking on a grassy field,

I am charmed to see the beauty,

But after a few moments the ruined sight

Of Gaza flashes before my eyes,

The sight aggrieves my mind.

 

The dawn, the sun, the morning cannot welcome Gaza

And cannot bring beauty to the minds of Gaza

Although they are doing here.

The Palestinians are helpless mere,

The holy land looks at humanity helplessly

“Save me”, says she loudly.

***

The Refugee

 With the burden of dreams on his head

The refugees are going ahead,

 History is looking back

 And floating in his memory-pot

 Their numerous helpless live-pictures,

 They dreamed in their own country

 To build a nest of felicity,

 Even were in peace, like a storm war came suddenly

And took away the lives of many,

Made destitute many,

On the way made many beggars,

Their futures were beaten like a thief;

Their wishes, hopes, dreams were shattered like glass;

Nevertheless like ants on the line to survive a little bit

Are walking towards the barbed wire railing

And on the chest of the earth are writing the miserable life-history.

If you stumble and fall on the road, you have to stand up promptly;

That’s what they’re trying to do with bloody existence;

In the barbed-wire, in the water-border they are being beaten

As if they have no place on this blue planet,

As if they have no state.

***

The World

The world has become weapons’ factory;

The sound of arms is echoing in the sky, in the air;

War games are going on in the world

The smell of gunpowder is floating everywhere;

The arms race is going on,

Weapons are being experimented;

Human life has no value;

Killing is becoming indiscriminate,

As if the weak ones have no survival value;

Some people don’t want peace, they want war because

In war their business increases, money comes,

In peace money does not come;

Behind the mask

Economic and political motives are covert;

The race for dominance is global;

The tickle of religion is a false lantern (Fanus), is flying across the heaven;

Around the world the weathers of capitalism are prevailed,

They are being turned into the climate becoming progressively condensed.

***

How Beautiful The World Would Be

Path is walking in the Sky

Cloud-boys and girls are going to the horizon line

Crossing the borderline undisturbedly with a smile

Seated borderline indifferently

Is looking with curious eyes

Is also looking at the birds in surprise

They are also flying from one country to another country

They are going easily with own minds

I am standing on the border

Many are standing on both sides

Lowering the eyes from the sky the barbed wire railing

Winked at us

Then the memories were gathering in the depths of our minds

And painting on the canvas of the mind

Free goings and comings of sweet memories

Of the fenceless world were running

On the eyes and mouth of wire-fence

A sky-cloud of depression fell

I and he looked at each other with a chest-full sadness

On our lips’ corners

I thought if these fences weren’t there

How nice it would be

How beautiful the world would be

***

Time

The earth has been suffering from throe today.

His body is afflicted with various ailments;

People’s minds are also sick today;

Sectarianism, exploitation, tyranny is reigning

In the realm of the human mind;

They are running on the paths of the mind speedily,

Is conquering from one country to another country effortlessly;

The soldiers of harmony, of humanity have been weakened;

Can’t stop them.

 

I believe the soldiers of harmony, humanity

 Will soon be strong again

In their body-mind will do photosynthesis of humanity-harmony!

Blocking their way will defeat them.

How many superpowers have emerged over the ages

But according to the rules of time they have fallen;

The DNA of history bears witness.

Bringing the panacea time will heal all;

The nephrons of time will purge and purify them.

The earth will be filled with humanity’s and harmony’s fragrance.

____________________

Read: The Earth’s Prayer – Poetry from West Bengal