POETRY BY KA

  Breaking Free: My Journey from Control to Courage Marriage is often painted as a journey of love, companionship, and mutual respect. But sometimes, it becomes a cage—one built not just by a partner but by those who hold power within a household. My story is not just about a failed marriage; it’s about reclaiming my dignity, faith, and peace after enduring an environment designed to break my spirit. From the very beginning, privacy was a luxury I wasn’t allowed. There were no locks on the bathroom doors, and even the most intimate moments with my husband were under surveillance. His mother watched, controlled, and invaded every aspect of my life, from how I dressed to how I practiced my faith. I wasn’t allowed to offer Fajr prayer or wear my hijab—practices that had always grounded me. Even the basic act of personal hygiene, like removing pubic hair, required her permission. When I once did so without asking, she created a humiliating scene in front of the maid, saying, "My son d...

  Breaking Free: My Journey from a Toxic Marriage to Self-Love Introduction Marriage is often painted as a union of love, respect, and partnership. Like many, I stepped into this chapter of my life with hope and dreams of building a home filled with love. Unfortunately, my reality was far from what I had imagined. What was meant to be a sacred bond turned into a suffocating experience, one that I eventually had to escape to reclaim my peace and dignity. The Unseen Chains From the very beginning, I sensed something was off. My husband, instead of being my partner, seemed more emotionally bound to his mother. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was being treated not as a wife but as an outsider—someone who had intruded upon an unhealthy dynamic. My mother-in-law behaved like the first wife, while I was pushed into the role of an unwelcome second. There were no boundaries—not in relationships, not in privacy, not even in modesty. The house had no bathroom locks. She woul...

  The Price of Loving You Thoughts of you shatter my heart, Each memory a blade, tearing me apart. The sting of betrayal lingers deep, A wound within, too raw to keep. I paid the price for loving true, Losing myself, piece by piece, for you. The mirror reflects a fading face, A ghost of love, gone without grace. Those days with you still haunt my mind, Echoes of promises, cruelly unkind. But I am safe—I’ve found my way, Thankful to have survived the fray.                               KULSOOM AFZAL

  Whispers of Spring The arrival of spring makes me miss you most, Soft petals dance, yet I am lost. Deep in my heart, love still remains, An echo of you in gentle rains. Your love was fleeting, a passing tide, You left when storms rose high and wide. Blinded by love, I failed to see, The warning signs that haunted me. The river hums our laughter’s tune, The winds still call for me and you. But spring now blooms in shades of blue, For it remembers—I still do. Deep in my heart, though time has passed, My love for you was built to last.                            KULSOOM AFZAL

  دسمبر کی سرد شام ہو میں ہوں، تم ہو، اور گرم چائے کی پیالی۔ ہلکی ہلکی دھند کا پہر، مدھم روشنی، خاموش شہر، اور گرم چائے کی پیالی۔ کچھ ادھوری باتیں ہوں، کچھ بیتے لمحوں کی راتیں ہوں، اور گرم چائے کی پیالی۔ کچھ قصے محبت کے، کچھ خواب حقیقت کے، اور گرم چائے کی پیالی۔ کچھ زخم پرانے دل کے، کچھ لفظ سہانے کل کے، اور گرم چائے کی پیالی۔ دسمبر کی سرد شام ہے، میرے ساتھ تیرا نام ہے، اب بچھڑنا ممکن نہیں، اب محبت انمول ہے، دسمبر کی سرد شام ہو، میں ہوں، تم ہو، اور گرم چائے کی پیالی۔                    KULSOOM AFZAL

Missing Those Cold Evenings Missing those cold evenings, you and me, A hot cup of tea, wild and free. The mountains listened to our laughter bright, As you held my hand, soft and tight. A waterfall behind, a love so true, Snowy peaks watched over you. Riding on horseback, reaching the crest, Your worried eyes—your silent unrest. We played in the snow, I slipped, you smiled, Captured in pictures, lost in the wild. Tea in the valley, dinner in starlight, A sky full of stars, our hearts took flight. You held my hand as the plane took air, My first time flying, but you were there. We promised a love that forever stays, A vow we made in moonlit haze. But love, like snow, began to fade, As we returned, lost in the shade. Safe for you, yet not for me, A love once strong, now lost at sea. Forced apart, with hearts so sore, The cup of tea is warm no more. Yet still, I long for those evenings true, Me, the tea, and memories of you.             ...

  Month of Love It’s the month of love, yet here I stand, Loving myself with a trembling hand. Never enough, never too much, Learning to heal, to soften my touch. Gifting my skin a tender embrace, Glowing again after sorrow’s trace. Days of darkness, nights so long, Yet here I rise, fierce and strong. Red on my lips, bold and bright, A color you hated—a shade of spite. But this is mine, my battle won, A love story where I am the sun. ✨❤️                                     KULSOOM AFZAL

  I Still Love You, But I Don't I still love you, I don’t know why, A heart that aches, yet won’t deny. You swore you’d do anything for me, But your promises were never free. I believed the lies, though I always knew, A dream wrapped in words that never grew. You are no man of truth, just a name, A loser hiding behind his shame. You stood with the one who took our light, Shielding the hands that stole our sight. You said you’d bear the weight of it all, Yet left me drowning, watching me fall. You turned away, called my pain "stress," A coward’s escape, nothing less. I still wonder—do I love you? No, I don’t. I never knew you.                                     KULSOOM AFZAL

Regret Unborn Thinking of you every night before sleep, Haunted by the days steeped in your narcissism— I can’t forget, I can’t forgive myself. How cruel I was to my own heart, Giving you everything, baring my soul; Now I only know regret— Regret for loving you, For surrendering the very essence of me, For sharing the promise of new life. I gave you the news of our little one’s arrival, A tender hope that never saw the light, Oh, that poor soul, unborn— Lost before it could even dream.                                                      KULSOOM AFZAL

A Cup of Tea, My Eternal Love My love for tea will never end, I still recall that fateful day— When your folks deemed it poison, And forbade its warm embrace. They never grasped the magic within, This brew that fuels my soul, My very first love, my daily spark, The energy that makes me whole. Their harsh words cut like bitter winds, Inflicting unseen, deep despair; Yet far from their shadows, I now sit, Enjoying a cup in quiet air. In every sip, the world grows lighter, Worries melt away, replaced by peace; You wished me to forsake this love, But in solitude, my joy won’t cease. For tea is more than mere refreshment— It’s my haven, my spirit’s delight, A timeless bond that no decree can break, My steadfast beacon through day and night.                                                                  KU...

  Whispers of the Neelum Neelum flows, so calm, so wide, A witness to love, side by side. Mountains echoed our laughter free, Soft winds carried our melody. By the river, our hearts entwined, Moments endless, love divine. Every ripple knew our name, Every sunset felt our flame. Yet time was cruel, love did fade, Dreams we built began to wane. You turned away, left me torn, Betrayed the moments we had sworn. Still, the Neelum sings our song, But without you, it feels all wrong. Memories linger, shadows stay, Yet love, like rivers, drifts away.                                               KULSOOM AFZAL

  You Weren’t There for Me You weren’t there when I needed you most, I gave you my all, but still, I lost. I handed you love, my soul, my trust, Yet all you gave me was silence and dust. I gave you joy, the best of my days, But you believed the lies, walked away. You never saw the love I bled, Blinded by words that others said. When our love faded, slipping through time, You weren’t there—was loving a crime? You left me alone in sorrow’s embrace, While they rejoiced at my heartbreak’s trace. Your choices carved the final stone, A love once ours, now dust and bone. So I walk away, no tears left to see, For when I needed you— you weren’t there for me.                                                                KA