Death's Rehearsals

Introduction: Art is a divine prism that reflects the true colors of life. Poetry has been one of the most beautiful colors as it continues reflecting on the horizon of life and imaginations. The rainbow of poetry is spread on the eternal canvas of life; not only blooming in the true colors of life but also as an authentic and divine color that highlights the grey and murky patches of life. William Wordsworth said, "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of strong feelings" but it doesn't always take "its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility." Sometimes it takes its origin from grievous distress. In the words of Abdul Kalam, "poetry comes from the highest happiness or the deepest sorrow", and those of Lenard Cohen, "poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash." While reading Sidra Sahar Imran, we come across such a situation that we cannot choose what a great poetry is: the one that takes its origin from tranquility, or the one that takes its origin from deepest distress.Reading Sidra Sahar Imran was one such great experiences of surprise and awe. In Sidra's work, metamorphism and symbolism are flourishing at their best. With her unique words, terminologies and phrases, she demonstrates the gray and murky images of life using metamorphism. She uses unique and strong metaphors to reflect the life that is being lived around her. Metaphors like 'red color', to describe the blood of innocent people flowing in street; 'white color', to describe the coffins of people who are being killed in wars and explosions; 'black color', to describe unnatural death - which is being forced on innocent people, and 'barking dogs', to designate people whose uncontrolled and uncensored words are responsible for all the misfortunes of the world and its poor and helpless people. When I read her work for the first time three years ago, I not only was astonished but also witnessed the unique and diverse colors of life with infinite shades of gray. I have discovered novel and innovate expressions and definitions of happiness, sadness, pain and life.This book has been originally written in Urdu through which Sidra penned down unfortunate stories of life from the streets and cities around her. She presents an account of the pain of life in her unique writing style with her grieving words and lamenting phrases to expose the real face of the world - a world that is full of injustice, pain, miseries, misfortunes, power and control, ammunition, explosions, rapes, and deaths. Her poems are metaphorically overflowing with the blood of innocent people, tears of unfortunate mothers, and unnatural deaths in streets. She laments the way how the life is being handled around her in particular, and throughout the world in general.When I first read her astonishing verses, phrased in extraordinary words, exceptional and stinging terminologies, and unique phrases in her free-flowing thoughts, I wished to offer her literary talent to English-speaking readers. In my translation of her poetry, I have tried my best to preserve the spirit, flow and rhythm of the original work alive.Muhammad AzramPoet, Writer, Translator