The Lady of Afghanistan~
She’s standing there with a dirty face
Then she was gone without a trace
You can’t say the worlds a better place
For she’s just, one of a great race
~
And in her eyes so very pale
A look of heaven or of hell
I guess no one could truly tell
For no one looked beneath the veil
~
Too see in her face only pain
For no one even knew her name
Or from what lonely place she came
No shame, for no one was to blame
~
She looks down on the valley green
On beauty that has always been
“O why am I treated so mean
In a world that is so serene?”
Said the girl of Afghanistan
~
As the evening shadows grow
Of those eternal mountains so
Without a voice or choice, she goes
But where she goes, nobody knows
~
For they move just like little sheep
Where the mountains are so steep
Among the ruins of the heap
Where no one ever sows or reaps
“If only I could have some sleep”
Said the child of Afghanistan
~
And in the shadows of the night
Great armies fight with all their might
For God and for the people’s rights
She has no dreams of sweet delight
The Lady of Afghanistan
~
And as the morning Sun breaks through
Upon the early morning dew
Everything begins as new
But will her broken dreams come true
Is she any different from you?
The Lady of Afghanistan
She’s standing there with a dirty face
Then she was gone without a trace
You can’t say the worlds a better place
For she’s just, one of a great race
~
And in her eyes so very pale
A look of heaven or of hell
I guess no one could truly tell
For no one looked beneath the veil
~
Too see in her face only pain
For no one even knew her name
Or from what lonely place she came
No shame, for no one was to blame
~
She looks down on the valley green
On beauty that has always been
“O why am I treated so mean
In a world that is so serene?”
Said the girl of Afghanistan
~
As the evening shadows grow
Of those eternal mountains so
Without a voice or choice, she goes
But where she goes, nobody knows
~
For they move just like little sheep
Where the mountains are so steep
Among the ruins of the heap
Where no one ever sows or reaps
“If only I could have some sleep”
Said the child of Afghanistan
~
And in the shadows of the night
Great armies fight with all their might
For God and for the people’s rights
She has no dreams of sweet delight
The Lady of Afghanistan
~
And as the morning Sun breaks through
Upon the early morning dew
Everything begins as new
But will her broken dreams come true
Is she any different from you?
The Lady of Afghanistan
~
~
For some reason The Pakistani Spectator as interviewed me and I have posted this rhyme in the hope that their reader might like it.
this poem really captures the depth of the eyes the girl showed in the photograph... i wish there was peace and love in their land!! amen!
ReplyDeleteThanks parv kaushik for the comment and I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to add that this is a modified rhyme from my archive.
Modified or not, this is very well told. You captured the spirit very well.
ReplyDelete"As the evening shadows grow
Of those eternal mountains so
Without a voice or choice, she goes
But where she goes, nobody knows"
So true.
i remember this photograph. striking.
ReplyDeletemay there be fewer wars, more peace, more dialogue. fewer lies, more truth. fewer crushed dreams, more hope.
Such a deep, touching poetry.. very well you expressed the feelings of any Afghani lady..
ReplyDeleteMay God bring them peace(Ameen)
Take care
Oh my goodness, Nick... what a gift you have...the depth of the painting, and the depth of the poem, how you move me to the core.
ReplyDeleteYou inspire me to get busy and get some new painting on the board.
LOL:Wanda
very good painting...and thx for stopping by :)
ReplyDeleteThis poem aptly captures the experience from both sides of the veil, really. I like this story and the images are touching. Powerful.
ReplyDeletejust so beautiful....
ReplyDeleteA powerful piece Nick complementing the poignant images perfectly.
ReplyDeletebeautiful yet sad......
ReplyDeleteI agree beautiful ... but so sad...
ReplyDeletethat was beautiful and congratulations on being featured in Pakistan Spectator!
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful the way you described her life and the people of Afghanistan in your poem.I just loved it even though it as sad.ther is no peace in this world.everyone is just fighting, people are dying.I wish we lived in a world with no borders.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I think of when I hear about war. Not generals, not strategies, but the cost to every day human beings, especially women and children.
ReplyDeleteI recall once reading a quote from a refugee woman in one of the world wars: "There mustn't be any more war. It disturbs too many people."
you have such empathy, this quality
ReplyDeleteinforms your poetry,and accents
the insight of your words, but most
of all your paintings, always in
the eyes of the women you paint,
you show their heart and yours
as well.
INCREDIBLE WORK!!!! :o)VERY, VERY WELL DONE!
ReplyDeletehey, you got an interview invite too, eh? I have yet to finish mine.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I recall that face on the cover of NG. Those eyes are haunting.
Very beauitful the poem and the art is..and so very touching and so sadly true.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous portrait, and beautiful haunting poem. Nice job Nick.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing that grieves me more than the slaughter our brothers and sisters are enduring around the world, and for me particularly the east. The good are being oppressed, these harmless women being demoralized and exploited. They scream where only a deafening silence remains. God bless you for being a voice to many, even in the tiniest way, gems like these are fields of gold to them.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up`
And blogger deleted it but thank you for your comment :)
I do like your drawing of the lady of Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteThis is so profound and so very heartfelt and true. It depends on which part of the world you were born into in how much you must suffer..of course there is different kinds of suffering throughout this world of ours.
ReplyDeleteIt's so totally unfair that the youngest the children must suffer and bare the consequences of the so called "adults" in their bitter and angry wars, mostly over religion..
As I stated before on your art blog this portrait you did is one of my favorites of yours..the haunting eyes say so much...
Blessings for all of us to bring peace and more love into this world. Everyone can make a difference..thought too many think they can't ..which is part of the problem.
Thank you again for sharing this "real story of truth" with us..
Blessings,
Rhi
P.S. you might want to check out my recent post you already checked out..as I wrote a lot more I added to the post.
ReplyDeleteRhi
by the way, just wanted to also say thank you for adding me to the blogroll on your sidebar. that's very kind of you. :)
ReplyDeleteLovley drawings and haunting rhyme. You captured the sadness in her eyes.
ReplyDeleteThese are such beautiful drawing and the poetry fits as well. I enjoyed myself here
ReplyDeleteLovely verse!I remember the first pic from a cover of National Geographic.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you had brought out the sadness opf the poem.
ReplyDeletewonderful...!!
ReplyDeleteIts odd, they want to hide the face
ReplyDeleteThere where ancient ideas rule
I only want to agree in case
we separate the wise from the fool
There is something about sketches that warms my heart like nothing else, it's like a glimpse into a being, more so than any camera could ever catch...
ReplyDeleteand today, I read the poem, it's well deserving of this fabulous sketch, or is it vice-versa...either way, you have a wonderful gift :)
ReplyDeletethis is my favorite picture of all time. im from afghanistan and this poem is sad and everytime i think of the people there i wanna cry
ReplyDelete