Parveen Shakir

24 November 1952 - 26 December 1994 / Karachi / Pakistan

To A Victorian Man

Instead of keeping me tucked away
in some safe corner of your heart—
instead of struggling with Victorian manners,
in the days of Elizabeth II—
instead of combing world literature
to create one-word conversations—
instead of a vigil below my window
at every Spring's first dawn—
just step forward
one day, out of nowhere,
and gathering me inside your arms
turn a perfect circle on your heels.
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