POETRY (THE GENEROUS BARD)

My tribute to Pashtun poet Ghani Khan

THE GENEROUS BARD
By: Nasser Yousaf

Towering stature, brawny in physique
He came from where Kabul and Swat meet

Sculpted from clay dun, dazzling bright
Symmetry of his features made a painting in relief

Possessed of a mind that mechanics contrive
To carry weight through air, land and sea

An acquiline nose distinction of men in Rome
Eyes gleaming to lead Man in fear of deceit

He wallowed in solitude, Nature touched him deep
On Sabbath only such a prodigy is conceived

Landing in jails for what his sinless father preached
He created in distress to mean what it meant to be

No longer do we hear songs for Rasputin
Since Ghani wrote poems worth tempting the Russian Queen

His folks knew him little save his barbs at the clergy
While in his poetry flowed many rivers upstream