Aks: Reflection

By Shagufta Qureshi

What is a wrinkle but a story of love?
Moments gone away. Some of romance, some of longing.

See the glimpse of my past in the glistening of my eyes.
Songs of color and sound, autumn and spring, flavors of romance.

God has gifted my greatest desires.
But by the side of my desires follows my dreads.

Shagufta Qureshi is an introspective and inspirational poet who enjoys writing about humanity, social justice, love, faith, sacrifice, loss, grief, and motherhood, inspired by the spiritual style known as Sufiana Kalam.

In her second collection of poems shared in Urdu and Punjabi with English translations, Qureshi explores such complex themes as tragedy, loss, and love while lyrically telling touching stories of longing, grief, and isolation. Her reflections touch on the quiet moments that lead to redemption, forgotten friendships, the knowledge that illuminates life, a thousand unopened wishes of the heart, a determined search for the one, and much more.

Aks: Reflections is a beautiful volume of multi-language poetry that shares insight into one woman’s experiences, challenges, and emotions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Oct 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9781663254474

Shagufta Qureshi

I was born in Lahore, Pakistan where I was a certified Homeopathic physician. In 1995, I moved to America with my husband and with that my career as physician came to an end. I’m from a literary family where I grew up watching my mother write poetry and novels. When I moved to America, despite my busy life, my passion for poetry only grew. I am a proud mother of a beautiful daughter and a handsome son. By listening and reading “Sufiyana Kalam,” a collection of inspirational poetry written by various famous poets, I was able to stay connected with my roots.

Book preview

AKS

REFLECTION

Copyright © 2023 Shagufta Qureshi.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-5446-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5447-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023912554

iUniverse rev. date: 09/15/2023

Dedication

I want to dedicate my book to my mother Salma Sultana, who also wrote poetry and inspired me to voice my thoughts through poetry.

Special Thanks

I would like to thank my husband Yahya Qureshi, my daughter Maheen Qureshi and my son Haseeb Qureshi for helping me with the translation.

I also would like to thank Yahya Qureshi for providing the photographed cover of my book.

Without all of your help and support, this wouldn’t be possible.

Key to transcription of Urdu into Roman

1: Vowels

Examples

2: Nasal sounds

These are indicated by the sign ~ above the n following the vowel

3: Consonants particular to Urdu

Contents