The Solitary Statue Poem by Saima Sharif

I walk alone among the yeast of tall bamboos
That stand as still as statues;
I caress the green smooth stems
Smoother than silk,
Greener than thistles.

The air fills with the wild moist smell
Wilder than Winter,
More moist than a rainforest;
That seems so very-known and so very dear
Bringing back my olden days so near.

The rustle of bamboo leaves navigates me
As far away as heaven- - -
A green hillock,
A smoky evening, a long sandy way,
The pitter-patter on the iron shed
And the cluck of frightened chicken.......

I take a deep breath,
Deeper than death;
Silence falls like snow
With the easterly breeze quiet and slow.

The sleepy creek smiles splendidly in its dream,
With the peeping of the golden sunlight
Among the bamboo leaves
On their stems slim and straight.

With my soothed eyes I stare upright
And wonder how the bamboo trees stay
All alone at the dark night;
Out of the winds and the clouds away,
With the silvery moon
And dimly lit stars on its own way!