TERROR IN THE LOVELY MEADOWS!

Heaven on earth—it was called,

With beauty-aplenty, everywhere.

Vales and mountains greenly draped,

Trees, with flowers blooming all over.

Sweet, ripe fruits with bees, buzzing-ever,

Birds, chirping songs, ever gay.

Lovely people with smiles beaming,

Happy lives with joy, ever filled.

All this beauty engulfing the valley,

Taking the soul a captive, in its bliss.

Kashmir—with its lovely meadows,

Was once that fairyland on earth.

Alas, what misfortune has seized the valley?

No more are the pretty meadows evergreen,

But, bloodstains render it red all over.

No more is the chirping of the birds heard,

But, it’s lost in the terrible sound of booming guns.

No more can we listen to the buzz of the bees,

All that is heard are the sobs of the people-deprived,

No more are they ever gay,

Losing their kith and kin to the mercy of the merciless.

No more is there the captivating beauty of the vale,

It lies entrenched in the sinful heaps of lifeless bodies.

No more are fruits harvested,

But, all that is harvested is violence & hate.

Oh! Why can’t we emancipate this pretty place,

From the icy hands of terrorism?

Why can’t we remove the shackles of violence,

From this peaceful valley—Kashmir?

Why can’t we do some thing

To restore the valley it’s lost glory?

Why don’t we join hands

And fight against the threats of terrorism?

After all, can we restore the life,

Once it departs the human body?

~S.R. Vidhya~