Post Card from Kashmir

The poem that I would like to address is the Agha Shahid Ali's "Post Card from Kashmir". I felt the tone in the poem, developed an extreme sadness to it. The speaker appeared to be an Indian from Kashmir who seems to have exiled from the Kashmir region. He talks about holding a post card "I always loved neatness. Now I hold the half-inch Himalayas in my hand" (pg 428) where the reader starts to develops the feeling that there is distance from his homeland. I liked the description. "When I returned, the colors won't be so brilliant, the Jhelum's waters so clean, so ultramarine. My love so overexposed." (pg 428) In this verse, I believe he is remembering what it is like back in his country and the beautiful landscape and people are now in turmoil. I could feel the passion coming from the speaker; therefore, I googled Kashmir and used the phrase turmoil in Kashmir. The site verified what I initially felt the speaker was portraying, turmoil, lonesomeness and sadness.