We live in a country where;
Democracy cries,
Unity ultimately divides.
Syeda Javeria Fatima’s collection of poems is not as whimsical as the title suggests; in fact, it is quite the opposite to it. Written in simple rhyme schemes, the poems voice the observations of a child’s world which has been marred by experiences too mature for her. Divided into sections that range from spiritual belief to romantic love, and her mother’s sacrificial omnipresence for her family members to friends that include her schoolmates and her grandparents, Fatima’s poems are a gamut of emotions both personal and relatable at the same time.
However, while simplicity of language may be appreciated as a way to invite readers into reading otherwise complex emotions, a lack-lustre writing makes these poems drab. At times in their attempt to capture the quotidian, the poems become either too straightforward, as in, ‘From detesting you to evolving best friends / our friendship came on a long path. / Over a span of time, / I got to know the actual you.’ Or else, the ordinary is romanticized and depoliticized, ‘I know a woman so audacious and brave, / for every task she did, her best she gave…A perfect homemaker, an all-rounder, / who performs her duties with glee.’
Of course, this is not to say that these poems are unable to articulate the arch of emotions they offer to trace, but the inability to uncover the density of it makes them oversimplified. For instance, a poem like ‘Deplorable Reality’ holds the potential to dive into the political tensions of the country and the plight of the marginalized.