Such epistemic murk around the L word.
Aren’t all trying to work around the L word?
No Shireen for me, no Heer, I’m no Qais,
Other desires too lurk around the L word.
Jehangir’s City, Shalimar, Anarkali,
Left my heart there to bark around the L word.
Tigresses may take all in Sundarbans,
A male, what use my quirks around the L word?
In Arabic, come seek, ‘refuge’ in Maaz,
What use being a Turk around the L word?
First Published in The Four Quarters Magazine, April 2014.
[This post has been contributed by Professor Maaz Bin Bilal. He is a Professor of Literature at the Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities.]
Featured Image Source: Friedrich Gross, via Wikimedia Commons.