An Ocean Within (A Poem For My Father, Poet Naseer Ahmed Nasir)
By Sameer Ahmed
Flourishing on
Natural contours of land,
Variegating with rainbows,
A continuous river
Flows into his own depths,
An ocean within.
This wordsmith, creator
Of enduring friendship
Throughout the seasons
With insects and birds,
Foliage and flowers, his co-creators
Famed among the constellations.
He – an Alpha Arietis – shines
With his art, evergreen.
Nostalgic melodies
Moisten his eyes.
The smile of a child
Makes him burst into laughter.
He soaks up
The sorrows unsaid
And faces unread.
A self-contained emotinal being.
He puts his signature
On the tablet of wind
Whispering through apertures
Of doors, of cores.
Spreading the magic of affection,
Erasing hatreds from
The slates of mind
And healing wounds
With his balmy libretto,
He consoles the heart.
Though a maverick in
The herds of social climbers,
His deep silence evokes
Wise thoughts.
A translucent rain
Wiping the mist of pain,
He grows
The creepers of camaraderie
In his poetry yards.
His ailing heart,
Varicose legs,
Olden heels
And clay bound feet,
All laborious episodes of
A lifetime drama serial.
Opening new ways
Between conscious and subconscious
My mentor,
Even with increasing age
Holds a bundle of dreams
For me, for all
Death’s arrow is aiming at him – He knows
But, still inscribing
The lively poem of existence
By camouflaging himself in words
beautiful and strong.
I know, he will live
And live long.
