a beautiful painting
depicting a gory thing
a rivetting story
that makes you cringe
the taj under a moonlit sky
being burnt to the ground
a gorgeous woman
bruised, gagged and bound
a thriving democracy
disguised as a brutal army
sent in to subjugate a people
asking for azaadi
or, even, the right to be
good heavens, pakistani!
anything, but an accursed part
of what might have been
jammu & kashmir