What A Man Is Poem by Akhtar Jawad

A Broken ship,
and a shipwrecked Adam,
having faced a typhoon,
smashed in many pieces.
A wooden block,
brought me on an isolated island.
But I am not alone.

Alone is one who cannot steal colors from the flowers,
one who can steal lives with a painting.
Alone is one who cannot steal a love tune from the birds,
one who can steal lives with a song.
Alone is one who cannot steal the art of dolphins and mermaids,
one who can steal lives with the million swimmers.
Alone is one who cannot steal the animals' thoughts,
one who can steal lives with a body language.
Alone is one who cannot steal the nature's heart,
one who can steal lives with a poet inside.

Alone is one who has no feelings,
feelings steal thoughts from the nature,
and man changes the thoughts,
in the beautiful words like a row of fragrant plants,
words start dancing in the flowing rhymed lines.
A poet never feels lonely he lives in a crowd of beauty.
I moved like the winds I danced with the trees,
I flew with the birds I swam with the dolphins.
to living and nonliving conveyed a message,
I love you and I was wondered to receive a response,
what of living even the nonliving responded me.
The sand smiled in the hot sunlight.
Clouds arose and rained,
I took a shower in the sweet soft water,
made a dam all rounda depression
a pond I built to store Adam's drink.
The sand invited sea waves to be wet in love,
and kissed my feet in the cold moon light,
the stars narrated my storyto the black hole
and asked for some more time
to narrate it till the end.
Everyone discussed me in the nature's talk shows.
What of a talk with the birds and cats,
I wonder on my walk with a furious beasts,
who haven't seen a man ever before,
they doesn't know what a man is,
so they weren't afraid of me.

Alas! They did not know what I am going to do!
Having collected a few rough stones,
I am looking at a tall dead tree.
I am collecting dry leaves fallen on the ground,
I shall put the dry tree on fire.
Not because it has no life in it,
but for the reason that it will quickly catch the fire.
I dam care the fire may spread in the whole forest
will burn green trees and the loving animals.
Not worried at all with trees many nests will also be burnt,
some having eggs and some having young ones.
The smokes will rise and a ship may come for my rescue,
Just a ray of hope!
But for a ray of hope I am ready to destroy the beautiful island!
A beast does not know but a man knows it well,
if a rescue ship comes it will install a flag
on the highest roof of the tallest cliff.
Soon a dispute will arise.
My country will claim the island is theirs,
as I discovered it,
and country of the rescue ship will claim,
they installed a flag on the island first,
so it belongs to them.
A war may outbreak on the island.
The trees and plants
the birds and animals
the dolphins and the mermaids
will then know
what a man is!

The poem I wrote awoke me from a sleep,
when I read it again I was no more a man,
I was just a poet!
I threw the stones
I threw dry leaves
I climbed at the dead tree
thinking only one thing,
how can I make a house for me
on this mighty dead tree.