POETIC NOESIS- A Personal Poetry Blog by Dr Javed Alam
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-​Poetic Noesis-
A Poetry Blog
-Dr Javed Alam-

Home- a poem by Javed Alam

3/8/2022

 
Home

"I am from here, I am from there,
yet I am neither here nor there". 
                                   - Mahmoud Darwish 



I reach home, home. It fails to recognise me, 
the tide of being "other" hits
the shores of my heart,

and washes away the joy.
                                               I walk through the streets:
strangers, strangers. No friends. 

"When are you going back?"
A new neighbour asks.

Everything has changed.

New houses, new lanes, new idols,
new songs, new aroma in the air.

My heart whispers in a language of loss:

I am from here, I am from there,
yet I am neither here nor there.
(22/05/2021)
©️
https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Proem- a poem by Javed Alam

31/7/2022

 
Proem

I believe in reason, 
In free will, 
In science,
In human stupidity, 

And in the magic of love.
I believe we are slaves 
Of our habits,
Our desires, our biases. 

I believe our decisions
Are mostly automatic, 
Bypassing reason.
I know science casts doubts

About free will,  
And flirts with Determinism, 
But that negates
Our individual responsibility.

I have doubts about Fatalism, 
About pre-determined destiny,
As they contradict
The concept
of divine justice. 

I believe we can change things 
If we have a burning desire 
To change, remain persistent, 
And are willing to face failures. 

One needs thousand pages book, 
An encyclopaedia, to explain 
Such complex beliefs.
This is my Proem. 
(14/04/22)
© https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Emptiness- a poem by Javed Alam

16/7/2022

 
Emptiness

When you carry the sack 
of your emptiness in your heart, 
and make desperate attempts 
to fill your stabbing void:

you end up mixing 
with the wrong people,
in wrong places, in wrong beds, 
around the wrong tables; 

you start ignoring 
setting healthy boundaries 
in your interactions;
you start drinking, 

smoking, buying, 
the wrong stuff
for the ephemeral pleasures; 
you start carrying 

the ghosts of your past 
into your every interaction.
Until you realise you are falling 
into a deeper abyss,

filled with the guilt, with the shame;
and someone nudges you 
to go into your own-self 
and explore your inner world; 

until you find a bigger purpose, 
work persistently 
towards your goals,
learn to regulate your emotions; 

and someone discovers the treasure 
of pearls and rubies 
in the basement 
of your soul; 

until you find a way 
to untie your wings
and fly in the spacious sky 
of a nourishing love;

you will find yourself, repeatedly, failing 
in weaving the delicate bond
of healthy, fulfilling, 
enduring relationships.
(a small poetic attempt to highlight the maladoptive and healthy ways to deal with chronic emptiness)
©https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Like a poem- a poem by Javed Alam

8/7/2022

 
Like a poem

Sitting in a cafe
Of a hotel lobby,
I read her patiently
Like a poem.


Her every feature, well
Aligned,
stimulates
An imagery,
evokes desires,
Infuses longing.

Her smiles, dimples,
Playful eyes, her freckles,
The vanilla scent
Of her skin,


The dexterity
Of hands, lips, and tongue,

The colour of her eyes,
The curl of her back,

All crafted, perfectly, together 
Like the stanzas of a poem.
Her every glance,
Every laughter,

The sound 
Of every syllable, like a metaphor,
Enough to ignite
the fire
Of my imagination.

©https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Time is going to come- a poem by Javed Alam

6/7/2022

 
Time is going to come

When we will cruise smoothly, 
In self-driving cars, watching 
Our favourite TV shows

Projected straight into our eyes
At the command of our voices; 
When everything will be under the close watch 

Of unblinking eyes, 
Unmanned robots and drones;
When our doctors, lawyers,

Accountants and bankers, 
Will be replaced 
By labour-saving algorithms

Running on smart machines;
When we will enjoy reading 
Poetry, and novels,

Written by AI machines;
When our likes, and dislikes, 
Strengths, and imperfections,

Emotions and little secrets, 
Will all be digitalised by big corporates; 
When we all will be nudged, 

By smart machines, to choose 
Specific cars, houses, 
Jobs, and partners; 

When the keys to the house 
Of our souls 
Will be operated by digital corporations; 

When we will be mere digital slaves,
With an illusionary free will, in the hands 
Of giant digital firms.
©https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

It hurts- a poem by Javed Alam

6/7/2022

 
It hurts

It hurts that I can't watch you grow 
On a daily basis.
How you put on your uniform, 
Gel your hair, 
Play rugby, 
And excel at school.

Every day I imagine, listening 
To your stories, advising you 
About the road ahead, 
Watching you smile. 
How we splash, as allowed
By the people, our grey sky 

With bright colours. 
How we fill the rooms
Of our hearts, the hands 
Of our souls,
With the seeds of happiness, 
And yearning.

How I watch the time
Coil like a snake 
Around the weary wings 
Of the life.
How I watch dark clouds, spread 
Across the sky

Of my mind, enter my house.
It hurts that vast continents, 
Sky kissing mountains, 
Bottomless seas, back breaking 
Flights, have been placed, 
Mercilessly, between us.
(2016)
©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

A patient note- a poem by Javed Alam

1/7/2022

 
A patient note 
 
I am in a hospital: dressed
in a hospital gown, reclining 

in a bed of pain, aware 
 
of an irritating catheter draining
the pink urine into a bag; 
                                           the city skyline
 
illuminates my room window;
                                            I scroll down the pictures,
the people, in my phone;

                                            an absence fills
the shelves of my mind. I pine
for simple things, like piddling, like washing,
 
in privacy, with dignity.

(07/03/2021)

(Setu Literary Magazine- USA)
©https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

We often believe- a poem by Javed Alam

24/6/2022

 
We often believe 

We will be able to hide 
Our true essence, the fabric

Of our soul, indefinitely, 

Behind a mask, carrying 
A tongue of Mandela.

We often forget the maxim: 

Our actions, not the silk 
Of our words, or our dresses,

Will eventually
unravel us,

Revealing
our true spirit,
The Mugabe within. 

(03/06/22)
©https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Our brain- a poem by Javed Alam

18/6/2022

 
Our brain

Our brain, as old as the sea, carries 
the footprints 
of our every activity, a shape
carved by our experiences, 
our ancestors, our environment.

Like a cask of memories
carries our identity, heirlooms;
a universe
filled with our own sunshine, 
clouds, people, and beasts. 

Like a parliament, our brain, 
debates endlessly
about our conflicting, endless, desires.
Our brain, a shape-shifter, constantly 
rewrites its circuitry.

Every day our brain 
tries to break free 
from its reptile instincts, 
its ape behaviours,
its Neanderthal desires. 

The spring
of our ecstasy,
anxiety,
depression, fear, and love, 

is hidden in the recesses 
of our brain. 

Despite all the hyperbole 
about the human logic, 
most of our activities run 
on an autopilot, by-passing 
reason, by-passing consciousness.
©https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

I know a girl- a poem by Javed Alam

19/5/2022

 
I know a girl 

I know  a girl
with eyebrows like calligraphy lines, 
deep eyes, an anklet,
fragrant hair 
that falls on her shoulders. 

She counts her every step, 
every calorie, 
every inch, to refine
her valleys, 
her waist.

She can't find the magic
in lush green meadows, 
in swirling snowflakes, 
near murmuring streams. 

One day lost in her thoughts,
a clan of butterflies 
whispered in her ears:
be careful with the tricks of mind,
maybe you are a violin, in search 
of right fingers, 
waiting to create a perfect symphony.

Then a solitary butterfly
whispered to her longing soul:

be careful with the crowd,
maybe you are a solitary rose
that needs delicate pruning, 
daily watering with fresh dew;
be careful with the snares, 
maybe you are a bird
waiting for a flight.

Here I tell a fleeting breeze:
say hello to her
when she is looking into a mirror, 
kiss her eyes,
bring back a waft 
of her inner scent.

Here I close my eyes:
I find us in a seafront 
cafe, on a peninsula, 
whispering our dreams

to a lustrous moon. 

©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

There again- a poem by Javed Alam

5/5/2022

 
There again

There again is our history
Witnessing a twilight, 

A season of grief, a winter 
In the middle of a summer.

There again are we sitting
On a fence, rubbing 

Our sleepy eyes, watching 
Our sky shrink.

There again are our stars 
Scattered like the dust 

Under the Emperor's feet.
There again is a raven, riding 

A holy horse, 
Calling himself a dove.

©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Mango people- a poem by Javed Alam

21/4/2022

 
Mango people 

She said: we are mango people,
We don't read or write poetry;

We don't create, or knead 
A better universe for others;

We don't weave the peace
With our acts, words or tweets.

He said: the comparison
Is an insult, a denigrating

Act, against the mangoes;

Our magical fruit

Pleases our senses,
Never schemes

Using serpentine thoughts,
Never spews the venom.
© https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

An Attic Hand- a poem by Javed Alam

16/4/2022

 
An Attic Hand

There is a steed
of life, within all of us.
 
It is tall, muscular,
hyperventilating with the air
 
of our desires.
We all mount it, gaily,
 
carrying an armour
of reason, a sword
 
of free will.
We all make our steed
 
neigh, trot, and gallop
at our own will;
 
until an Attic Hand
grabs its reins.

©️poeticnoesis.com

Social media - a poem by Javed Alam

14/4/2022

 
Social media 

Like an irresistible intrusive impulse 
I keep checking my social media accounts, 
More than I initially thought I would.
Everyone here carries a tongue 

Of Martin Luther King, a heart of Rumi,
A soul of Mandela, a mind of Socrates;
Everyone here uses Likes and Shares,
A new currency of altruism and activism.

Everyone here sends love emojis 
Across the oceans, yet ignoring
Their families, their friends, across the tables, 
Their neighbours down the streets.

People discover their inner activist, 
Inner philosopher, inner poet, 
Inner prejudice and bigotry here.
People behave like celebrities here.

My News-feed is colourful like a rainbow. 
Sadness has evaporated from our perfect 
Timelines, yet sharp icicles of loneliness 
Hang from the grey ceilings of our minds.

© https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

How to be happy- a poem by Javed Alam

2/4/2022

 
How to be happy 

"Never", say philosophers, 
chase happiness.
More you chase it,
more elusive happiness becomes.

If you can learn to invest in your family, 
friends, community, and work, 
and not move like an unhinged asteroid;
If you can find a purpose, 
beyond yourself, to live,
and not get caught in your vanities;
If you can find an activity, a hobby, 
where you forget the daily drudgery,
and live in the present moment;
If you can remember 
everyone gets his share of problems,
and learn to carry a hope

despite life's tribulations;
If you can use gratitude 
to tame your unbridled desires, 
and learn to interpret 

life experiences more positively; 
And if you can stop, throwing seeds 
on sand, chasing happiness, 
THEN you will discover the truth:

"happiness is a side effect
of leading a good, meaningful, life".

©️poeticnoesis.com

O dreams- a poem by Javed Alam

14/3/2022

 
​O dreams 

O dreams, you give wings
to our lives.
You encourage slaves, born 
in the cradle of misery, to aspire 
freedom from their masters.
Your fire emboldens a nation 
to rise against a tyranny.


O dreams, you sweeten the pain 
of a pauper. Riding the chariot 
of hope, he carries the dreams 
of possessing the riches.
Your saccharine consolations
help a prisoner to fight
the pangs of loneliness.

O dreams, seeds buried under the blanket
of snow, in your warm company, 
sprout during the spring.
You squeeze out the sap
of stagnation
from our hearts, from our minds.
You inspire us to know the secrets 
hidden in the heavens.
 
O dreams, in your pleasing company, 

we navigate around the boulders
of daily difficulties, carrying
the earthly, and the celestial dreams, 

in our hearts.
 
I say: hold fast to your dreams,
for they manure the roots
of hope, for they illuminate
the precincts of our hearts,
for they sustain us
between the alp of life 
and the precipice of death.
©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Once again- a poem by Javed Alam

11/3/2022

 
Once again

Just when I thought I had doused my fires, 
I saw an amorous spring changing things again;

Just when I saw snowdrops, hellebore, 
Dancing tulips, and the sunshine, 

I saw my dreams murmuring again; 
Just when I saw the fluttering 

Butterflies, and the singing birds, 
I saw an old flame flickering again.

Once again, caught in the talons 
Of leman, my heart is carried helplessly 

Over a new terrain.
Once again, my days are filled 

With the ecstasy, and strain.

©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

It is not every day- a poem by Dr Javed Alam

19/2/2022

 
It is not every day I feel my heartbeat,
I hear it bouncing, like a ball on a ping pong,
Its cusps flapping like sails of a ship.
It is not every day
I get a tide of dopamine,
I feel dreamy, open, vulnerable,
And dangling over a cliff edge.
It is not every day I enjoy the sunshine,
I clear my deadwood,
I notice daffodils, the purple lilies,
And the colour of butterflies.
It is not everyday, streams sound like flutes,
Roses sprout in battlefields,
Doves rest on canons,
Dawn rides on the wings
Of butterflies,
rain rejuvenates the garden
Of memories.

It is not every day we feel a Spring,
When life crawls back to the Life, when heart breaks
Its icicles and flutters in an ecstasy.

(The Galways Review- Ireland)
©https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

I no longer talk about- a poem by Javed Alam

6/1/2022

 
I no longer talk about

How life stops gazing

at tomorrow,
how life freezes dreams
in our daily drudgery.

I no longer talk about
an endless road,
                         the ruins

of a pining nation,
                           the silence
of our song.

I whisper my poverties
in the ears of my solitude.

I illuminate my cave
with the light of my dreams.


(The Galway Review-- Ireland)
@drjal02


I love dreaming- a poem by Javed Alam

1/10/2021

 
I love dreaming

I love dreaming
About a place, Pahalgam,
Where I
whispered with a friendly breeze, 
Where I discovered the face of peace, 

Where I observed the fluttering wings 
Of colourful butterflies. 
I still hear the soulful music 
Of its river, the symphony 

Of our tolerance.
I remember, a forest, collecting 
Pine cones as souvenirs, galloping 
A white horse in a meadow,

Sitting
on river boulders, 
Dipping my feet in the river, when no one 
Chained our steps. 
Here, across the oceans, I recall 

Everything: the sweet delights 
Of student life, camping 
Along the musical river, shuffling cards 
Of happiness, the comradeship, 

A neighing horse calling 
"I am here, where are you?".
One day we shall return 
To that magical place, 

The gateway to the cave 
Of a deity, when no wailing 
Echoes from its valleys,
When no grief plays on its flute. 

One day we shall sit, again, 
Along the river Liddar, breathing 
An air of safety, 
Under a white moon.

Until then, we shall continue 
To carry the sack,
Of our dreams, 
On our shoulders.
@
https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

As I sit in a room thinking- a poem by  Javed Alam

28/9/2021

 
As I sit in a room thinking

As I sit in a room 
Thinking
About the phantoms 

Of the past, 
The uncertainties of future; 
I imagine my mind, like a room, 
With two doors.
First I see a tide of fears, a fog

Of gloom, entering my mind
Through one door; 
Then without letting them
To take roots in the soil
Of my mind, 

I watch my thoughts leave slowly 
Through the second door.

©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Of man- a poem by Javed Alam

26/2/2021

 
Of man

Just a pile of some flesh 

dressed up on a few bones,
with some veins and arteries
branching in and out of a pump;

with a little breath
constantly going in and out;
with a myriad of formless thoughts 
due to the action of neurons;

with an insatiable hunger,
for new things, he is often
unsatisfied
with the things he owns; 

with unharnessed desires, 
and a fear of being ordinary, he sprints

on a thousand feet
with an odd cramp
of altruism.

Finally his flesh, his bones,
his vanities,
his dreams, 
dissolve into the elements, 
disappear into a nothingness.

Perhaps a regular reflection
on this reality
will ease
many of vanities and maladies.


©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

O life- a poem by Javed Alam

1/1/2021

 
​​O life
 
At dawn you greet us with bird songs,
energise our spirits, with the first rays 
of sunlight, to overcome the hurdles on our paths, 
to steel our resolve against your vicissitudes.
 
At noontide you sweeten our pain of daily struggles, 
rekindle our dying desires with the warmth of the sun, 
allure us with the sweetmeats of hope, and display 
the illusionary rainbows to our heart's contentment.
 
At eventide we eat the bread kneaded by our sweat,
drink the wine of our desires, draw the comfort 
for our tiring bodies, and prepare to sow new seeds 
of hope in the fields of our dreams.
 
Then next day, again, besotted by your seductive baits, 
hypnotised by your new dreams, we forget 
your deceitful nature, we forget the approach 
of your unbecoming sister.

©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

A dream- a poem by Javed Alam

5/12/2020

 
A dream

We are sitting, in a dream,
On a wooden bench.
During the day 
 
I carried the image 
Of my dream: the face
Of the pond, the dewy eyes
 
Of the evening, the soft-mouthed
Breeze, the freshness 
Of the air, the fragrance
 
Of the moment, the flutter 
Of the fallen leaves,
The twittering of birds, 
 
And the warm touch
Of your hand. 
As the evening approaches, 
 
Carrying the weight 
Of my dream, I concur 
Dreams float free, like buoys, 
 
In the deep sea of our minds, 
Pointing to our sunken 
Past, our hidden desires.

©️ https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

Grandfather- a poem by Javed Alam

13/11/2020

 
Grandfather 

My grandfather, a bearded family man,
dressed in a khan dress, a waistcoat,
a brown cap made of lambskin, 
would often sit in a room
smoking his hookah.

He, dutifully, woke up 
before the dawn,
for his morning prayers, lighting 
the kitchen fireplace to cook, 
long before the rest of the family 
woke up. 

He liked the company 
of his, peasant, friends.
He was kind, more than his children, 
to his orphaned grandchildren.
His wife, my maternal grandmother, 
I remember
mostly praying or chatting.
She never cooked.

He tuned to Radio, daily, 
mumbling Sufi songs
with his eyes closed, as if 
in a transcendental state. 
He would talk, to his grandchildren, 
about his six months pilgrimage 
to Mecca, by a ship, about sea burials 
of pilgrims, who could not make to the land. 
 
He would distribute 
Zamzam water, discovered
by the heel 
of thirsty prophet Ismail, among the family
and friends, even years after 
his return from Mecca. 
 
To follow the tradition
of the prophet, he  would, for months, 
look after the sacrificial sheep.
He would feed, wash,
and apply henna dye to them, until the annual festival 
to commemorate the sacrifice 
of prophet Abraham.

We went through his things.
We found his marriage 
certificate, witnessed
by would be prime minister,
his snow-white burial garment 
he bought, decades before 
his death, from Mecca.

His home, filled 
with soundless words, memories, 
of his grandchildren, now sold 
to some strangers.
They have whitewashed, 
memory-stains, voice-stains 
of our childhood and his life.
He, persistently, told us 
"no human being, living or dead, is worth
worshiping".
He deserves his own prayer 
from God.
(for Haji Ramadan)
©https://www.poeticnoesis.com/

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    These poems have been previously published in various literary  journals, magazines, books and anthologies around the globe including the UK, the USA, Ireland and Canada.

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    List of Poems

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    A Dream - A Poem
    An Attic Hand- A Poem
    A Paint Shop- A Poem
    A Patient Note- A Poem
    As I Sit In A Room Thinking- A Poem
    COVID-19: A POEM
    Despite All The Grandiosity- A Poem
    Emptiness- A Poem
    Grandfather- A Poem
    Home- A Poem
    How I Saw You- A Poem
    How To Be Happy- A Poem
    I Create A Royal Road To My Misery- A Poem
    I Know A Girl- A Poem
    I Know A Place- A Poem
    I Love Dreaming- A Poem
    I No Longer Talk About- A Poem
    I Order My Heart To Be Patient- A Poem
    I Remember Her- A Poem
    I Sing A Song For Those- A Poem
    It Hurts- A Poem
    It Is Not Every Day- A Poem
    Like A Poem- A Poem
    Mango People- A Poem
    O Dreams- A Poem
    Of Man- A Poem
    Of Wind- A Poem
    Of Women- A Poem
    O Life- A Poem
    O My Soul- A Poem
    O My Unruly Mind- A Poem
    Once Again- A Poem
    Our Brain- A Poem
    Perhaps-it-is-not-your-famed-beauty-a-poem
    Proem- A Poem
    Silence- Apoem
    Social Media - A Poem
    Solitude- A Poem
    Sorrows- A Poem
    There Again- A Poem
    Time Is Going To Come- A Poem
    We Are Often Lost- A Poem
    We Often Believe- A Poem
    We Often Forget- A Poem
    Who Am I- A Poem
    You Are Always With Me- A Poem

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