O! Poets And Men Of Letters Awake
by Muhammad Shanazar
The world is in the shadow of nuclear war
Our own neighbor chatters to use the nuclear devices
As if a thing common or a child’s play.
O! Poets and Men of Letters awake
Only you can save the earth from the imminent doom.
The weapons are with the so-called civilized nations,
As if the guns are in the hands of monkeys,
We too have processed uranium
Enough to combat the challengers many times,
But we possess patient hearts in the chests
And minds discreet, prudent and judicious in the heads.
O! Poets and Men of Letters awake
From the slumber deep for it is a time to weep,
Use your pen and paper and moments of nights and days,
Your talents, the power of your embellished words,
Weave the stories of novels dramas, and lines of poesy
To shake the inner most part of the souls
Of the leading heads of humanity who make a trade
On human blood: the most precious gist of the universe.
O! Poets and Men of Letters awake
Infuse into them astuteness to discern the difference
Between just and unjust, between right and wrong,
Instead of making tiresome efforts to please the kings
And approving their all actions though immoral,
Write not panegyrics lest you should become accomplices
Against the crime of trampling sanctity,
And deforming magnificence of the Mother Earth.
O! Poets and Men of Letters awake
Impede the itchy fingers of the leprous hands
Lest they should press the buttons in their own craze,
If once they push the buttons, there will be a chain in reaction,
And then holocaust, extinction of biological life,
The cities, the towns, and the villages big or small,
The parks and streets, the houses and huts will become silent.
The earth will move dull drab, into spaces around the sun,
But all purposeless like an astray stallion whose veteran
Is killed in the battle and it runs away unrestrained.
From:
Muhammad Shanazar |
About MuhammadShanazar
Biography
Muhammad Shanazar, a famous contemporary poet from Pakistan, was born into a poverty stricken family in a village of Sub Division Gujarkhan District Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on 25th Nov., 1960. His father served in Pakistan Army; he was recruited by the colonial rulers when he was only 10 years old. On the day he was recruited, he wore only a shirt given by someone from the neighbourhood considering him an orphan child. Muhammad Shanazar got his early education from the local school. He passed his SSC Examination from Government High School Mandra, Intermediate from Government Hashmat Ali Islamia College, Rawalpindi, graduation from Gordon College, Rawalpindi, and M.A in English Literature, from University of the Punjab. After post graduation he served three years as a constable in Police Department. He found it uncongenial to his temperament and decided to leave it, meanwhile luckily he came upon an opportunity to join the Department of Education (Technical Wing) to render his services as a lecturer in English Language and Literature. After holding this position for seventeen years, he was promoted Assistant Professor, and at present he is serving at Government College of Commerce at Kahuta. He started seriously writing poetry with specific purpose behind it in 1998. He chose English to express the voice of his conscience. The prime objective he has been working for is to make humanity aware of the sanctity of human life i.e. “A single drop of human blood possesses more worth than all treasures that the Earth contains”. Voices Network from North Carolina U.S.A placed him among the prominent contemporary poets by awarding him the International Special Distinction “Poet in Residence” in 2004. Since then being one of the Poetry Judges of online international poetry contests hosted by Voices Network, he has been judging the poems. He also worked as an International Poetry Ambassador in Pakistan on the behalf of Voices Network, North Carolina and held several poetry reading sessions, to promote peace through poetry. Poemhunter of France and Bollywood of India chose him one of the ‘Top 500 Poets in the World’, World Society of Poets bestowed upon him honour by placing him among the prominent contemporary poets of the world. Govt. of Pakistan, Ministry of Education awarded him the award of “Promotion In Children Literature” with the cash prize. Muhammad Shanazar received appreciation from all around the world for his highly intellectual work.
