The Fading Garden

By Ali Ashhar

Daffodils and tulips in the garden

bloom with the essence of pride

yielded with sprinkles of sacrifice and blood

stemmed from the courage

of withstanding the storms and harsh weathers

cherished and nurtured

by the breeze of fraternity around.

One day, some people walk in

with a dream of dominating

the dominion

one of them makes his way

toward the flowers of the garden

and ask about the identity of blood

from which they were yielded

while others label them by different names

one of them yells the yellow daffodils bloom the most

while others chant the name of red tulips.

Serenity of the garden is in a mess

as the caretakers get in a brawl

some associate themselves with daffodils

while others with tulips

soon, the flowers begin to fade

mellifluous melodies of birds in the garden

turns into dissenting dissonance

as they watch their

caretakers getting entrapped in chaos.  

Ali Ashhar is a poet, short story writer and columnist from Jaunpur, India. He is the author of two poetry collections: Mirror of Emotions (Notion Press, 2021) and Across the Shore (Zorba Books, 2024). He was chosen as the Best Debut Author for the year 2021 by The Indian Awaz and was the recipient of an India Prime 100 Authors Award. His works appear in Indian Review, The Raven Review, Wild Court International Poetry Journal and The Bosphorus Review of Books, among others.