CHIZAR

Of course, it was never my choice:

Could I have made a better one?

Someone before me chose the top

Of a sheltered kuche’s tight run

Beneath the nearby mountain slopes:

Each rear window’s craggy montage

That sprawled and took my breath away –

Arching like an electric charge.

At the kuche’s open ending

Stood the small shops – quaint enterprise –

Hire cars, general supplies, fresh fruit –

Not much that could excite my eyes.

Meanwhile, the swarming traffic swirled

Around narrow streets that converged

In this reclaimed village that housed

Big spenders all – hard won gains splurged –

On luxury homes that towered

Behind concrete walls’ marble facing

Hiding gardens for summer sport -

Pool parties that set hearts racing.

Swimming stopped when the snow fell thick

On flat black roofs and garden beds.

We stoked the furnace to stay warm

And set metal studs in tyre threads

So we could drive south to our work

In the frosty districts below

And look back north again to see

A lasting lustrous coat of snow.

The sun was soon back in our skies.

Chizar was high so it stayed cool

Compared to the dense heat below.

Still pale, we blushed into the pool.

Leaves once more graced tall poplar trees

And mad parties upset the night.

Is it any wonder our noise

Annoyed the force beyond our sight?

We failed to see the crowds at mosques

And overlooked new black chadors

Until the guards were in our streets -

Trained to settle a few old scores.