by Bushra Naqi
The shifting seas write an unspoken code
Somewhere in tiers of waves
In the depth of saline waters
Pledging motion through eternity.
A finely tuned orchestra of tremulous currents
Surging on a high crest of waves
Melts when it hits seashore
Ferocity quelled in a frothy foaming crucible
Is it all preordained static bound to fate?
Or written in the sand
With willful playful hands?
An aura of luxury swells and lubricates one’s faith
That all is preordained
Remotely written in the stars
A safe distance from the ordeals of Self
And on another threshold
Fear of the inevitable
Paralyzes the human spirit
Comes to be prey to inertia
Killing many aspiring goals
A dualism torments yet thrills
A struggle between two enduring beliefs
Of self-will and the destiny of fate:
Where self-will overshadows,
The mind is enticed
Into broader richer horizons
The handlers of destiny
Entrap the timorous mind
While it waits fearfully, fitfully
For hidden latent forces
To make or break at will
Childhood is a period of gestation. Such was Bushra’s. Parental mentoring swirled through her pliable mind, polishing it. Her father was an erudite man and cautiously selective in the books his children read. Bushra grew up with a romance for books, especially the English Classics. Growing up in Pakistan, where the language is Urdu, this was an anomaly, but it opened up the windows of her mind.She constantly honed her skills by taking up creative classes at NYU’s continuing education. Thus, she dug into her mind’s inner treasures, and turned to writing and publishing poetry and short stories.