No Shore in Sight (Pakistan’s Poetic Flood of Loss)

Original Poem by Sanniah Hassan

Content warning: mentions of death, climate disaster, and displacement.

Note: This poem reflects on the devastating floods that have swept through Pakistan, capturing the grief, loss, and helplessness experienced by survivors and witnesses. It is a call to remember those affected and to reckon with the realities of climate change.

One moment all was clear,

The next I couldn’t breathe.

As the noise blared through the TV

One dead, dozens wounded –

Its noise ringing in my ears.

The water came at once, they said,

No end in sight.

Uprooting trees, drowning cattle,

Displacing families –

Leaving not a soul about.

The police cars blared their sirens

Visiting neighbourhoods sounding alarm

Cautioning people to stay inside

Lest they lose their lives.

The damage had been done –

Life in shambles across villages

Hope drowned with the current

My people bled.

Their tears fresh.

The TV blared – twenty dead, hundreds wounded, perhaps more?

Cities devastated,

Women tortured,

Life askew.

But the water kept coming, relentless –

Till no sign of life remained.

Authorities helpless

As Pakistan rushed to piece life together again

Their hopelessness made me uneasy,

A hurt beyond compare;

with no shore in sight,

I prayed for my country to emerge victorious once again!

*Originally published on my profile Medium.

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