The Newly Weds

a poem by Hyder Nayab

Husband:
Come, Darling, let us dance;
Forget our past, our mirth enhance;
Then pray to Him, to bless us with a golden chance,
For an opening in U.S., Germany, or France.
What is here in India, except our kith-n-kin?
Who are obsessed with the intricacies of virtue and sin.
If I can snatch a fat salaried foreign job,
I could get rid of the local post,
And fly to foreign, clearing the coast.
Thenceforth, our lives would begin to be moon and money;
We could both swim in the ocean of honey;
And let go this land of doubtful destiny.

Wife:
Stop it O Dear! May your wisdom enhance;
Do not be led away by your absurd stance.
Pleasure multiplies in the obscurities of romance.
Let us therefore, embark on our lives’ journey
In our village to begin;
Dole out your knowledge, my labour put in;
So that very soon it would be wholesome to live in.
The soil, the water, and the air around:
We are indebted to these,
By our heritage we are solemnly bound.
How then, can we escape their blessings so sound?
Come, come, all the same, let us dance,
And in these, our surroundings,
Our happy and healthy future glance!