Like a Desert Flower | Poetry

Like a desert flower waiting for rain,
like a river-bank thirsting for the touch of pitchers,
like the dawn
longing for light;
and like a house,
like a house in ruins for want of a woman -
the exhausted ones of our times
need a moment to breathe,
need a moment to sleep,
in the arms of peace, in the arms of peace.

by Parween Faiz Zadah Malaal


Parween Faiz Zadah Malaal, born in 1957 in southern Afghanistan, began her career by writing for Tolo-e-Afghan, the daily paper in Kandahar. She also worked for Radio Afghanistan. She recently moved to Peshawar, where she has published short stories and three collections of poetry.

*From the Poetry Translation Centre.

The original Da Khazaan Tilayee Ploona (The Golden Footsteps of Autumn), published in Peshawar