An Ode to Peshawar’s Childhood

November 15, 2024 backpunch

Read Time:1 Minute, 30 Second

Mehul Dave & BackPunch collaborate
(Originally posted on 23rd Dec 2014)

I wish I had not gone to school today,
I would have met you in the evening today,
My ears long to hear your voice,
These guns and bombs are making a lot of noise,
Just you and me somewhere in silence,
Far far away from this violence.

I hear my friends calling their moms for help,
I don’t know why we bled,
The lunchbox is yet untouched,
My hunger satisfied with bullets instead,
From under the table saw I the boots approaching,
Pulled he out his gun and shot me in the head, lied there me, bleeding.

Ask dad not to pick me up today,
Because I can’t see him carry me bloodied today,
Don’t lose hope when I am gone,
Believe me, as I am not alone,
Don’t moisten your eyes when you miss me at home,
Cried I have a lot with tears as thick as foam.

Tell Da his comrade has deserted him,
I will no longer be there to fight with him,
I will be there in your heart, your soul and mind,
But I won’t be there for you to find,
Lie in my school bag all my dreams,
Now all it has are my friends screams.

In the morning, I packed my bag and joyfully hid a muffin,
In the evening my dad, with tears flowing, slid me in a coffin.

I wish I had not gone to school today,
I would have met you in the evening today….

(N.B.: The first draft of this poem was written by Mehul Dave with 4 lines per stanza. BackPunch added an extra two lines every stanza in no particular order. May the souls of all the kids rest in peace.)