the faithful hurry
for prayers
to a sky vacant
except for a jet
creasing the clouds
missing is my
Uncle
who marched
in fiery '52
for his birthright
then slipped
into silence
watched the war
of 1971
from afar
saying to his wife
'look, things go around
come around
but never as
you want them.'

Farhana Mazhar Ali lives in Chicago and travels extensively in South Asia.