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