Statues Poem by Showkat Ahmad Wani

The statues crumble, melting limb by limb,
As dawn's first stroke ignites the face of hope,
By idle trust were chiseled clear and bright;
Thy sense, thy words, thy map—all melt away,
Like ice undone by fleeting rest's embrace,
It sways aloft upon the dying breath,
Like kites forlorn midst tempests wild and vast,
Their trust in threads that bend to kiss the dust
To be her shroud of dust till time is done;
Thee, let not fall beneath thy fallen-self,
And let not bow below thy inner worth.
O Star, let not thy light in darkness sink,
Nor drink thyself down, drop by drop, to night,
Let shine thy light to pierce the darkest shade,
And reign on high, for stars must ever glow.
Thee, let not bow eternal beams to die,
And let not duck thy head to dirty stone,
For stone can never turn thy course astray,
Let not thy treasured self dissolve to dust.
Now rise above the stones that bid thee bow,
Let faith ignite thy soul—defy thy being.
Break thou these ancient forms to shape thee new;
Divorce the trust to get the nerve of firm,
And mash thy This to craft thy Will of will.
(Oct,2019)