POEM FOR PARTING

Firaaq

The language of separation

Photo by Freddy Kearney on Unsplash

Does separation feel the same in every language?

In mine, it is called Firaaq*.
Like you can repeat it under your breath
and feel the heaviness of the syllables
drowning your heart.
Or if you utter it thoughtfully,
then it disappears
like a stone in a blind well.
Or if you linger long enough
on the ending syllable
then it closes like an old sepia colored diary
resisting the flow of time.
Does separation feel the same in your language?

© 2024 Maria Khalid

*Firaaq is an Urdu language word which means separation from the beloved. It holds poetic connotations and is widely used in poetry as an opposite of Vasl which means union with the beloved. The tug of war continues between the two — Firaaq and Vasl, as the poet yearns for the latter but the fate favors the former.

As a bilingual person, I sometimes wonder how language shapes our emotions? Do they feel the same in every language? Why I feel that one language conveys the profoundness of separation and…