ZOHRA ZOBERI

FAMILY OF THE HEART POETRY & MUSIC RECITAL

Antagonism

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    Like a book
    With a cover drastically misleading
    Chapter titles not reflecting
    Actual contents of the material
    Antagonism sometimes is just a mask.
    If such a book is written by someone close to you
    It is basically a part of your syllabus
     
    Arrows of jealousy pierce into your tender feelings
    Sarcastic remarks hurt your self pride
    Helpless, perhaps you even feel revengeful at times
    Don’t react on impulse
    Or reject to read the book, it contradicts wisdom
    Summon up your quest, this is a test.
    Initial pages might reveal a great deal
    Insecurities instilled in those tender years so impressionable 
    Flaws in upbringing, or negative experiences
    Long lasting scars to be surfaced later on
    You may discover the hurdles of life
    Faced by the one antagonizing you
     
    A layer of insecurity you will uncover
    Another, of lack of desire
    Rust of envy, dust of difficulty
    An obsession for competition
    As you flip more and more pages you’ll find
    Underneath it all lays the true story!
    To your utmost surprise you may uncover
    Even a great deal of admiration!
    Perhaps a desire to be like you
    Oh yes, truth sometimes does manifest itself
    In great disguise!
    Deal with it gracefully
    Even if you may have to simply walk away
    Like having read yet another book
    You wish you hadn’t purchased
    Yet it added to your knowledge and wisdom
  • Zohra Zoberi

    June 6, 2006 

     

    Metal Children

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     “Interior, exterior, wax and polish
    The whole works please”
    Confidently I instructed
    Simply charged it to my plastic
    A mere twenty-five dollars, not a big deal!
    Dragging myself with nagging obsession
    Of negative news I try to forget
     
    As I handed over my car keys
    Two muscular youth instantly rushed
    With powerful machines they sucked out
    Each and every particle of dirt and dust!
    Perfectly aligned to the black track
    The wheels automatically rolled to move on
    Protected against outside elements,
    Inside a glass corridor I walked along
    Watching this prize possession of mine
    To witness how it was being pampered
    My metal child!
    What about the children of flesh and blood?
    Images of war and disaster in the far away land
    Started rolling in the real of my mind, I could see
    A desperate mother begging for a glass of water
    Let alone afford the luxury to bathe her infant
     
    Gallons and Gallons of water gushed out from all directions
    Washing the exterior till it sparkled
    Keeping pace I continued to walk along
    ‘Turtle wax now being applied’
    A flashing sign lit up, haunted with the war news
    I recalled images of shelling and carpet bombing instead!
    Pure white suds softly landed all over its body
    Big brushes automatically jutted out
    Moving in circles gently they massaged the sides
    Till the hubs of the wheels started shining too
    More water poured forth from all directions-the final rinse!
    In ‘Shock and Awe’
    For a while I stood still! 
     
    Few more healthy teens with jovial smiles
    Rushed to grab this baby with pleasure
    Time to towel dry now
    Seeing those white towels I couldn’t help thinking   
    Hospitals void of bandages!
    Innocent injured children with no medicines either
    My real kept rolling
    Haunting me still
    Those hazel eyes of a maimed teen-ager
    His entire family lost!
     
    Soon they handed over my keys
    Like everyone else
    With acceleration I merged into an ever-flowing stream of steel
    Guzzling away what kept us going
    The fluid which had become a curse for some
    Blessing for others
    Into the daily mundane I too moved on
    As if nothing happened at all!

     

     

  • Zohra Zoberi

    Apr 16, 2003