BLOG OF THE WEEK ~ ANJUM WASIM DAR

Today, my friends, we are pleased to be featuring the poet Anjum  Wasim Dar, who blogs at Poetic Oceans. We interviewed Anjum in 2014, should you care to learn more about her. Anjum lives in Pakistan, and her poems frequently contain prayers for peace.

Sherry: Anjum, I’m so happy to be talking with you again. What’s new in your life since our interview in 2014?  Give us a snapshot of your life today, won’t you?

Anjum: Dear Sherry,  ‘Change is the Law of Nature’ and so a great change of Place for me, a new city, as we said Goodbye to Rawalpindi, left our  small house full of sweet memories of family life, and are now living in a small town, Banni Gala, a few miles North of Islamabad. The weather is cool and the place is quiet and peaceful.  Just the ideal environment for creative writing.

The Grandkids are growing up fast, so it seems. With two grandsons, the communication is on Skype, as my elder daughter lives in United Arab Emirates.....a great change again…the younger ones keep visiting and, with them, I become their team mate for  a bit of cricket with the boys and art and knitting with the girl. So much love and ‘childhood return’ makes me cry at times. Allah is most gracious.

This photo was taken on our Eid Day ~ a Day of Thanks Giving 

after the Holy Month of Ramazan is over.

Sherry: It sounds wonderful, Anjum. Are you happy with how your writing has developed over the past year?  You have two books out – any plans for another?

Anjum: Yes, by the Grace of  The Almighty, I achieved the target of 50,000 words in November. The NANOWRIMO 2015. My Novel was based on my life in my adopted  hometown, in the frontier Province of Pakistan…My Father always loved the place, as it reminded him and all of us of our real home in Kashmir, still under Indian control… http://nanowrimo.org/participants/anjum-wasim-dar/novels/abbottabad-a-hill-station-that-was .

Sherry: Congratulations on completing such a huge project in such a short period of time, Anjum.

Anjum: This year, a page I wrote about Abbottabad was published by www.writing.ie  in their ‘Tell Your Own Story’  http://www.writing.ie/tell-your-own-story/a-hill-station-that-was-by-anjum-wasim-dar/ .  This motivated me and gave me a lead in to planning a long story of the time I spent with my parents,  the best  time of my teenage years…and so it became the ‘Memories of the Haunted Bungalow -12 Kakul Road’.

Sherry: It sounds intriguing, Anjum. Your family has lived a most interesting life. I can tell from your writing that the unrest in your beautiful country pains you deeply.  Would you like to tell us a bit about this?

Anjum: Yes, sure, Sherry.  I think our planet Earth is suffering from deep wounds.  Wars have been fought since time immemorial, but the tragedy is that ‘peace prevails,  but not for long’. My country  was born when people were killed on a massive scale. My family crossed the Kashmir borders in separate convoys, and reached safer grounds in the new land named Pakistan. We had a Ten Year peaceful time, but again under  army rule. It is called The Decade of Progress. Whether it was or not, at least there were no bomb threats or the war of terrorism. I hope and pray that this war comes to an end and fear goes away for good everywhere in the world, amen.

Sherry: Oh, Anjum, we join you in that prayer with all our hearts. Are you still painting?

Anjum: No, Sherry, nothing new in this field, as I had to finish knitting projects promised for my grand kids. No new additions to the loving foursome at the moment.

There has been more photographic activity; my camera pulls me to capture the  stunning Beauty of Nature, which strengthens my Faith and promotes my Hope for Peace, and  inspires the soul and spirit to write. But Ah, yes, a writing success  for Grandma…an edited version, reduced to the required 300 words made it to the Winner’s List at ... http://intergenerationmonth.org/story_winners2015.html  ‘Take Her Home,Lady’ and  Alhamdolilah. A cheque of 100$ arrived in the mail…a special gift ..at a time of miracles….Winning stories will be published online shortly.

Sherry: Congratulations on those accomplishments! Yay!

  

                          Views of Banni Gala, Islamabad

  

Sherry: Let’s look at your poetry, Anjum, shall we?

Anjum: Yes, Sherry,  I would love to share a poem I wrote during my short but historical stay at Nottingham,  in England, in the year 2003. I experienced three  events which  felt as if I was inside a big history book.

One was the Guy Fawkes Day, with fireworks, and, incidentally, it was the last one, then Halloween, I opened the door to a group of children and gave them some coins as ‘Treat’…wow, it was amazing…then came Christmas Time and again it was like a dream…the lights, the decorated trees, the festive look … Here are the lines I wrote…. 

       

Christmas Time, Christmas Time and Prayers

Prayers for peace, a peaceful refuge,
Welcome Light, with lights on trees,
Green and white, in coloured deluge;
Décor delight diversity diverted;
All hope one, all call one, All pray one;
Life to begin, or life , to cease?
Christmas Time, Healing Time and tremors,
Tremors of blasts, killing blasts,
Farewell Love, with flags on caskets
Red and Blue, in deathly solitude,
Sacred silence spirit severed;
All around flowers, all fresh now
All withered now, none in baskets;
Christmas Time Christmas Time and Salvation
Salvation, for every nation?
Salvation Eternal, end of turmoil in blood and sand,
Crimson and cream,
 a moaning scream, a shattered dream?
One for one, each kills one, one by one, till none is none.
Christmas Time, Christmas Time and Love;
Love for All, a Tolerant Love,
With Gifts garlands and Gatherings,
Silver and Gold, Young and Old,
the Brave and the Bold,
Weak and Strong, the Fighters for Freedom
for the World;
All with Love, All at Home,
None at WAR, Glad Tidings for All.
Amen .Amen .Amen.

Sherry: You have captured so well the longing for peace, which is especially strong at this time of year. This is a beautiful prayer for peace, Anjum.

Anjum: The second one I wish to share if from the year 2008.  Scenes of severely injured people, carried away helplessly, some lying on the ground, bleeding, screaming, collapsing, crying for help,  have left a deep impact on us as a nation. It is the Minister of Death,  a harsh reality, the truth that each one must accept,  for some it is peaceful, but - but  now so many die in one blast, so openly ,  so cruelly and  so suddenly?

Why time stops still
and the killer finds the kill
so suddenly coming?
why sharp is the strike
cutting like a knife
leaving us crying and bleeding?
why common places are becoming Senlac?
why life is like a race track?
who is fighting for what and for what winning?
Was this the lesson of our Lord so Loving?
why we dig but graves to fill?
OH People why don't you
see Proud Lucifer smiling
On top of the High Hill?
My heart with fear trembling
cannot for a moment be calm and still
hearing shattering glass and sirens shrill
Another blast another attack-
why Death is burning and black?

Sherry: You paint the scene so clearly, we can see it, Anjum, hear the cries of the people. We live in difficult times.

Anjum: With the third poem,  I wish to Honor You and All at POETS UNITED…It is an excerpt from one of my long stories..’Adventures of the Multi Colored Lead People’, a story of pencils by pencils and for the pencils. In Honor of All the Great Poets and Writers:

A  thought struck me:  Why not try to write my own song? I am born to be, meant to be, designed to be a writer! I must describe and decorate my own self soul with my own abilities. I should not wait for someone else to trace flowers for me. It is like saying to discover your own pencil self.  So I wrote a special song and I present it to you today :

How can I deny, O Dear Pencil

Without you I cannot reply

I look for you all the time

I hold you to even draw a line

I move you to form new words

I keep you and hold you close

I smile to myself when I see you lie

And if I ever lose you I cry,

O My Pencil

Without you I cannot reply.

O The writing and the written world

you  gracefully elegantly unfold

Making it possible for all tales untold

To see the myths legends fables of old

And the note the words of gold

In silver bronze embossed or bold

You make me feel warm in the cold

I buy to keep, you cannot be sold

Sherry: Anjum, how lovely, that you wrote a poem for us! Thank you so much! You remind me of Malala saying “One girl, one pen, one book, can change the world.” Is there anything you’d like to say to Poets United?

Anjum: Dearest  Amazing Wonderful  so Heavenly Inspiring  POETS UNITED , May The Almighty Bless you All with His Choicest Gifts: Peace, Pure Ever shining Light,  Best of Health  and Happiness  and may All the Good Dreams come true amen. May Joy be with you as You All Celebrate.  Wishing you a  Peaceful Peaceful Happy New Year …sincerely.

Thanking You All …from the depths of my heart…

Please accept my deep gratitude for another great  opportunity to share my thoughts and feelings  and supporting me my people and my country at this difficult time…you are a strong pillar of courage and inspiration. May Allah bring the Best of Everything  in you world for you amen amen amen.

Sherry: And a peaceful new year to you and your beloved Pakistan as well, Anjum. Thank you for this lovely visit, and your warm words. Happy writing all through 2016!

Another passionate pilgrim for peace, my friends, adding her voice to the conversation. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!

THREE POEMS FOR PEACE

At this time of year, when  many cultures all over the world are observing celebrations honouring light, love and peace, it seems fitting to offer three beautiful poems for peace, written by our own Mary,  Loredana Donovan, and Anjum Wasim Dar. I hope they resonate with you as much as they did with me, each one coming from a heart full of love and goodwill. May they blow through your heart like the winter wind, leaving everything fresh and new. Enjoy these poems of peace, my friends, an early gift to add to the many of the season.

Mary, who writes at In the Corner of My Eye, was very moved by this video, which went viral right after the tragic events in Paris in November. Do enjoy the music and its message, and Mary's beautiful poem in response. Paris is a city she has visited, that is dear to her heart.

IMAGINE

Imagine, yes imagine,

what it would be like

if we could live in peace!

Imagine, yes imagine

what it would be like

if we could have no fear.

Imagine, yes imagine..

imagine, yes imagine..

no I really cannot see

how it will ever be possible

for hateful killing to end

and evil to be controlled.

Imagine, yes imagine

I wish I could imagine

peace not drifting further away.

Sherry: The combination of the video and your poem is very moving, Mary. And  the idea of peace drifting ever further away is saddening. Sigh. Tell us a bit about what was going through your heart as you wrote.

Mary: I wrote the poem “Imagine” the day after the terrorist attacks in the city of Paris.  I had been watching on-site journalists from CNN report on the situation, and one of them mentioned that behind them there was a man on a bicycle pulling a piano.  The reporters then mentioned that he set up his grand piano and began to play outside the Bataclan Theater.  And the song that he played was John Lennon’s “Imagine.”   I found myself listening to that song again (on Youtube)  and was then inspired to write my poem.

At first the name of the pianist  was not known, but eventually it was disclosed that he was Davide Martello, and he is known for traveling to areas of conflict and playing his piano. If you visit my blog post you will see a video of him playing.  I am very much moved every time I listen to him.

As far as the style of my poem, I decided to repeat the word ‘imagine’ in most every verse, to stress the importance of the word for me and, in a small way, to pay tribute to John Lennon’s song and to Davide Martello’s rendition of it in the face of such tragedy.  The message, I would say, mixes hope for peace with my own personal disillusionment that it is possible.

I do keep seeing peace drift further and further away, as I express in the last stanza.  We do, however, somehow have to keep hope alive.  We must continue to imagine……...

Sherry: Yes, against all odds, we must. It is only through our desire and demand for a peaceful world, that it can ever happen. 

Now let's look at Loredana's poem, which was also inspired by the tragic events in Paris. Loredana writes at Blogging Away.  Her poem also reads like a song,  bringing light to our spirits, which may be hanging a little heavy in such times as these. 

LOVE AND LIGHT

let peace

illuminate

the city of lights

let peace

illuminate the world

today, we pray

we grieve

but do not fear

let hope

prevail

despite despair

fall in love again

under a starlit sky

in the city of lights

its people healed

their hearts renewed

let love

surround them

like a beacon of light

today, we pray

we are Paris

~ ~ ~

Sherry: This is very moving, Loredana, as was the response of people around the world, unity in response to terror. "We grieve, but do not fear" and "we are Paris" - so powerful. As is the encouragement to "fall in love again", as life goes on. Tell us about this poem, Loredana.

Loredana: Thank you, Sherry. I'm deeply honored and humbled that you're featuring my peace poem. The poem came to be the night I heard about the terrorist attacks in Paris. I was so saddened by the awful news, and it immediately brought back memories of 9/11. I work in New York City and I feel that by the grace of God, I was spared, as I was not in the office on that fateful day. I thought about the innocent victims, their families, the emotional pain, the devastating loss of loved ones. All I could do was pray, and the poem came to me in the form of a prayer. Paris is known as the city of lights, and while they turned off the lights on the Eiffel Tower, many famous sights around the world turned them on in solidarity. Even the Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and blue. 

And the beautiful light emanating from the stained glass windows in my own Church was inspiring. So light became a metaphor for enlightenment, solidarity, spirituality. And I wanted to send a message of love and light and peace to Paris, to the world, in my own humble way, with my own little poem that came straight from my heart. Wishing all my poet friends at Poets United a peaceful and blessed Holiday Season!


Sherry: What a beautiful story, Loredana. And how close to home the attack in Paris must have felt, as you were closely connected to the events of 9/11. I, too, was moved by all of the red, white and blue lights, lit in solidarity. Thank you for this beautiful prayer.   

I was struck by Anjum's passionate prayer for peace, at her blog, Poetic Oceans. It is a strong, stirring plea for a peaceful world. Let's take a look.

Islamabad Sends Peace To All ~

Be it Paris  NY  Beirut Peshawar or Islamabad

or any other town village or city in the world

when people can walk talk eat or drive with ease 

beauty rests stays prevails, but only with peace

Just like I see you green, manifesting majesty

at the foot of Margalla Hills, so others see, that

are home to them, nations of the world who

live, breathe, and fly freedom flags unfurled

let all be within their own beloved land

green colorful peaceful and grand

Oh My City Dear, send full peace everywhere

we all live on one Earth, planet created

for us all, let us not be oblivious nor close 

our eyes, time flies, life dies, 

save All,

forgive All

Truth will triumph not Lies

Come peace peace peace for All

Spread strong covers 

let Light shine bright, tranquility descend

remove all dislike, drench all anger 

drown all hate,

Let Goodwill stand tall.

Sherry: A cry straight from the heart for peace. Beautifully done! Anjum, what was going through your mind as you wrote this poem?

Anjum: Thank you very much for selecting my Peace Poem. I feel honored and am deeply grateful to You and All at Poets United for your profound encouragement and support.

For quite some time, my heart has been heavy and the spirit laden, though life  is blessed with comfort  at home. Yet when I see deception,injustice,depression,poverty and inequality in my nation, I am grieved to the soul. I realized that all this has increased all over the world also. 

Added to this is the killing of innocent people, dying for no fault of their own, for no purpose and for no crime. When more than 100 children were killed in a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, the grieving heart could not bear anymore. What can I do to lessen this evil killing? what effort can I make for tolerance and peace? While I was still thinking,more innocents were killed, more blood spilled, more mass graves dug...my native land, Kashmir, is bleeding, bleeding for peace...If I cannot leave the house, the least I can and should do is to give a Voice to my Pen and be brave enough to Call Out Loud for Peace. 

And then came Divine Guidance. Words came and this poem was formed with a Call for Peace to All Humanity living on the same planet Earth. And above All,  Poets United is the Sacred Gateway  that leads us ahead and helps to manifest the best that is written. Thank you Poets United.

Sherry: Wow. Thank you, Anjum, for caring so much, for finding these strong and beautiful words, and for your kind message to Poets United. I know that Kashmir is described as a 'Heaven on earth' for its beauty. Your heartbreaking phrase "bleeding for peace" stirs my soul. So many places in the world now lie bleeding, even though most of the citizens of earth long for  peace. We must remember - and insist - that Peace is Possible. If humans can make war, they can make peace.

It is good to contemplate peace, at a time when the world has never needed it more. I love Anjum's question, "What can I do?" Our words, prayers and energy, added to those across the world, hopefully will help turn the tide towards peace on earth that most humans want so much. One can only hope. 

Thank you, Mary, Loredana and Anjum, for adding your voices to the cry for peace.

Next Monday will feature our announcement of a winter break at Poets United, with best wishes to all citizens on earth, in whatever events they may or may not be observing. In the New Year, do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you! 

LIFE OF A POET - ANJUM WASIM DAR

This week, my friends, we are flying overseas to Pakistan, to meet with the poet Anjum Wasim Dar, who writes at Poetic Oceans. I think this is our first poet from Pakistan, so I am thrilled. Hop aboard, as we set out to explore Anjum's beautiful country.

Sherry: Anjum, I am so pleased to be meeting with you!