Broken Glass of Life, Shattered Dreams

By Aftab Ahmed

I dreamt a good dream,
Sinking in a quick-sand of life
I tell you it was a good dream
A world free to the choices one makes

When sunken totally
I could see clergy men performing their daily prayers,
Poets sitting under trees
Writers creating a different world through characters

Alcohol, Opium, love making could be seen in the open
There was no society to challenge any ones morality
Everyone had their own, with their own glass of life.
 
Old graves did not fit in this place
Culture was a fiction
Order was found in chaos

Nobody owned anything
Resources were in plenty in this green land
Water flowed pure and blue
Love thrived without greed

Critiques, skeptic and cynics could not been seen,
Perspective was personal and kept safely in ones own mind
A good dream sinking in a quick sand of life
And peaceful death

Suddenly sweet alcohol from the pages of Koran and Bible turned bitter
Beautiful maiden’s heart where love could be seen turned Black
Sound of violent hoofs of horses disturbed the peace of the place
And finally men with swords and armour could be seen

They preached freedom, love and growth
But love was in abundance here, love for life
Freedom was ideal,
And we were growing to meet a peaceful death

The last road to inevitability was peaceful and painless
It did not leave any grieved lovers
Parting was only a means to meet again in a similar place

They were not refused and accepted as a part of the society thinking they will live differently like all of us. But then the good dream turned into a nightmare when a circular place of concrete iron could be seen. Even worse here death was forced and painful. 正義，自由和偉大的制度(JUSTICE, FREEDOM AND THE GREAT REGIME) was stamped in every wall of this dreamy land. WHITE SICKLE with STAR on a RED Piece of CLOTH was HOISTED EVERYWHERE

And finally the colour of alcohol turned red,
Desire turned into panic, poetry and music which mellowed the joys of life turned into painfull stories of desperation and pain. Bombings disturbed the peace of my sleep, machines deafened the ear, before sunrise would become bright enough to gently wake me up, I was awake. Frightened, sweating and shouting. Then I saw the open balcony door and the sun’s rays gently peeking its way through the trees. I looked at the sun eye to eye and as if teasing me he said “it was a dream.”

I tucked myself in the blanket and again started Dreaming only the Good Dream.