Seasons Change-

I still remember; those seasons change
Those promises; those friendships age
I see those dark figures and bonds so real
Maybe they were all ghosts, set out to steal

I’ve seen you, getting drenched in rain
Getting tired of walking, always high on talking
I’ve seen you cry, red faced and flustered
Remember our giggles, through all the struggles

I keep reading, those worn out letters
Sniffing and smiling, our burgundy sweaters
I feel your fingers, locked with mine
That caress of thumb, that whiff of autumn

Why did it all fall apart?
Why do these memories keep haunting?
Why does your laugh makes me cry?
When does it get better,
How long do I try?

By
Atta ul Kibria

Holding On-

Let me float endlessly
In your infinite sea
My thoughts are my poison
I’ll pick a fight with Poseidon

Why do you stay when you’re gone
Quit laughing in my mind
Feels like we’re still tied
You’re alive; I’m the one who died

Those days of joy long lost
I’ve cried so many times
I tried but feels like I’ve wasted
All the smiles I’ve tasted

I never rhymed
Why do I try now
To eulogize my ordeal?
Or to prepare my last meal

By
Atta ul Kibria

Loneliness –

Oh, the lone tear
Rolling down my cheek
Leaving a trail of sadness
Telling a tale of madness

Hold my hand
As I climb up this
Smokey staircase to heaven
Or to the devil’s den

So far from my home
Too devoid of dreams
Return me what was stolen
My life and pride swollen

I’ve suffered enough
Now I need them back
My words and verses
My prayers and curses

Tell my demons
I’ve escaped again
These dungeons can’t hold me
This despair can’t break me

For I am forevermore
The one who scribes ordeals
I’m the ever stoic
I am the winter poet

By

Atta ul Kibria

Distant-

This sadness is here to stay
The most ugly shade of grey
Follow me into the dark
Let the demons diminish your spark

I’ll stay awake with you
We’re doomed no matter what we do
I’ll embrace this ordeal
Nothing left for them to steal

I’m drunk on the pain
A little longer before I’m insane
If you wait you’ll die
Brave up and say your bye

I hope you find it in your heart
The courage to stay apart
And when I die after I’ve fought
You’ll be smiling in my thought

By
Atta ul Kibria

I’ll Dream of You-

Stars shimmer on the night sky
Beneath I’ll dream of you
I hope you dream of me too
Me desperate for your gaze
I let your voice soothe my pain
Lest I care, let it rain
Ah the melody, my heart beats a rhythm
My hands drifting down your waist
Savour the moment, let’s not haste
Me swaying, lost in the cherry lips
Remind me when we fall from grace
We’ll run away from this place

Can we have the light shine upon us?
Can we have the world revolve around us?

Can we kiss under the moonlight?
Can I miss you in the lonely night?

Miracles happen when I’m asleep
So tonight I’ll dream of you
I hope you dream of me too

By
Atta ul Kibria

Endless-

Let me take you
To the land of golden daybreaks
Come join me
In eternal solitude
In your fate’s prelude

What is it that I’m holding
Hope or faith?
Somehow I’m still drowning
Why don’t you let me go?
Why don’t you tell me no?

Have you ever felt
Like silhouette of your memories
Like a sad tale?
A casting of eclipse
Like advent of apocalypse?

Have you seen that reflection
In their dark eyes?
Shouting all their lies
Or may be one day you’ll see
When you truly become free

There is this sea
So vast and endless
Of anguish and pain
Let’s find Poseidon
And steal a storm

Do you ever fail to see
The hue of bliss
Of love and joy?
All I see are wars
Ugly mischiefs of Mars

This ink has lasted years
Many droughts and deaths
And when the crimson swan flies
I hear a demon’s voice
That it’s time to rejoice

Breaths have lost meaning
Words robbed of magic
It’s a never ending ordeal
An outpour of emotions
A tale of poetic devotion

By
Atta ul Kibria

The Ruins-

Oh ye ghosts of these ruins
Let me be bury here
Among the saints
Away from my demons
Away from hope

Don’t let me cry
For she comes to meet me
In trail of my tears
Stop me, from reliving my fears

Turn me into a butterfly
A shiny crimson one
Let me embellish your grave
Let me drink the dew drops
Washing your tombstone

Turn me into a rose
A dark black one
Let me show them the beauty
Of death and numbness

Turn me into a verse
A sad poetic one
Let me be his desires
His pains and his trials
Let me be of the Winter Poet

By
Atta ul Kibria

Resurrection-

His head bowed, his thoughts disarrayed
He scales the path, with his slender gait
Grim eyes and crooked hair
Svelte dress and an icy stare
The poet; a child of fate
Coming back from his eternal wait

He cuts through the ghastly mist
Squashed paper in his lissom fist
Written are the sins and his name
Resurrecting the demons he once tamed
His wrinkled face and cracked skin
Will flow yet again with crimson ink

His pen anchors his shaky hand
The demons remind of a forgotten land
One he conquered, where he sinned
The one where, he was the almighty king
A land where his prowess dawned
One where the Winter Poet was born

By
Atta ul Kibria

Letters to Ashes

Oh, the jubilant flame
Dancing on the melody of the wind
Concealing with its sway
The tormenting of those letters
Scorching of those envelopes
And scent of the burning ink

Oh, the ignorant flame
Rejoicing the fate of those letters
How little does it know
That the longer they burn
The closer it gets to its demise

He sits by that fire, the poet
His eyes, a dark void
Sucking up the flame’s shine
Yet moist, with tears of defeat

Amidst those icy winds
The flame is dead
Leaving behind a graveyard
Of letters turned to ashes

Oh, the ignorant poet
Clinging to his shallow hope
How little does he know
No phoenix will rise tonight
No faith will be fulfilled

Nothing remains in the graveyard
Nothing but ashes

By
Atta ul Kibria

The Final Song-

Standing in the street where a child once played
His sound echoed in laughter
A child all grown up, drenched in sorrows and pain
Taken away from the bliss he once found
In pits of despair, he jumped at every sound
He cried a lot but soon found a way
He told his demons, he was here to stay
A heart made of stone, he survived for nine years
People came and went, but none took his hand
The brothers held him close, made him king of their band
He was whole once again, but sun was soon to die
Was left alone again, the spark in his eyes
Became faint, because all he did was cry
The tears dried up, he called himself the winter
A misfit with a pen, a boy with some words
He picked fight with his demons and slayed their hordes
Time passed by, the poet grew wings
Every soul that loved him, made up a feather
He loves them back, their praise he sings
A brother that pulled him up
An angelic friend who hates being praised
A girl who smiled at him
And the ones who accepted him
It looks as if it’s the end of his drought
But every time he thinks, he gets something wrong
No more of this war, now he pens his final song

By
Atta ul Kibria