Introduction

Taufiq Rafat is one of the greatest poets of Pakistan. He is

considered to be the best just like his contemporaries Maki
Kureishi, Daud Kamal , Kaleem Omar and Alamgir Hashmi.
He is known to be the creator of Pakistani idiom in English
language. He has written two books of poetry named as
Arrival of monsoon(1947-78) and Half Moon (1979-1983) .
Taufiq Rafat was born in Sialkot. He got educated in
Lahore , Aligarh and Dehra Dun and then later he joined his
family’s business. He was a mentor to many aspiring young
poets like Kaleem Omar , Khaled Ahmed ,Shuja Nawaz who
are famous Pakistani poets writing in English.
Rafat also translated some of the masterpieces of
Classical Punjabi Poetry in English like of Puran Bhagat ,
Qadir yar and Bulleh Shah. Nature imagery, themes of
traumatic realities of life and loneliness can be identified in
Rafat’s work.
 Imagery’s function
Imagery, in a literary work, is an author's use of descriptive
and vivid language to add depth to his work. It invokes the
human senses to broaden the reader's understanding of the
work. Powerful types of imagery use metaphors and engage
all the senses of human to express the concept and ideas.
Imagery includes pictures and photographs. Imagery in a
certain literature work makes pictures in our minds that give
us better understanding of idea being expressed.
 Rafat makes use of nature imagery,
reference from his poetry
THE TIME TO LOVE
. In the poem THE TIME TO LOVE he discusses different seasons like august, april
and spring. He discusses the idea that there is no fixed time to love. One can love
whenever he wants to. Love has no boundaries. Love cannot be limited to one
season or particular time. Love is universal.
The time to love
Is when the heart says so.
Who cares
If it is muddy augu
Or tepid april?
 VILLAGE GIRL
Rafat in his other poem VILLAGE GIRL gives the
descriptive image of a beautiful girl. He describes the
image of the girl which shows his keen observation.
There she was
Tall and straight
As a sugar cane stalk
 KARACHI, 1955
In the poem KARACHI, 1955 Rafat describes the city’s
intense grey images like screaming wind, roar of the sun,
bald sparrow and cactus. In other poem named ONCE A
UPON A TIME he is giving reference to the demise of youth.
He is telling about his teeth which are not the same like they
used to be. The decaying of teeth is considered to be the
sign of departing youth. Rafat gives us the images like
unhealthy tan teeth, cracked teeth, gap between teeth.
These images clearly give us the concept of declining youth
which the poet is trying to convey. Rafat by giving these
images gives us the concept of the law of nature that all
what is young and beautiful, new and fresh has to come to a
downfall in the end.
Once upon a time I had beautiful teeth,
And every now and then
I would laugh in the mirror
 ARRIVAL OF THE MONSOON
In the poem ARRIVAL OF THE MONSOON Rafat gives the
images of monsoon , birds ,wind ,trees , summer. In this
poem he depicts the monsoon as the symbol of creative
urge. Rafat in this poem gives the idea that hot days are
over and all beauties of monsoon have been restored.
A welcome darkness descends. Harsh contours
Dissolve, lose their prosaic condition.
All the sounds we have loved are restored.
 SQUIRRELS
In the poem SQUIRRELS Rafat personifies the squirrel as
himself. He gives us the images from nature like waterfall,
vines, and squirrels. Rafat in these poems give us the idea
that squirrel is like a poet. He again gives the idea of
descending youth. He gives us his opinion that poet should
not worry and write poems whether they are liked or not.
 STORM
Most of the poems of Rafat include seasons and beauty of
nature. The themes of death and ending of youth can also
be established in his work of poetry. In his poem STORM he
is again giving us the images from nature. He is telling us
that wind is blowing and the candle is out. He is giving a
gloomy picture of a storm. The last line of the poems gives
us the main theme of the poem.
The candle is out again.
Your hands, you feet are cold.
Right now there is nothing
We can call our own.
 WEDDING IN THE FLOOD
In his poem WEDDING IN THE FLOOD he tells us about a
Pakistani wedding and how the wedding turns into disaster
due to the violent side of nature .Rafat makes the use of
phrases of Punjabi that shows that it’s a part of our own
countries literature. He uses the images from nature like
flood, rain, drizzle, and river. He portrays the scene of a
marriage disturbed by the disastrous side of nature. In poem
THE SPARROW he talks about different birds from nature. He
talks about sparrows, ostrich, peacock, and eagle.
 THE KINGFISHER THE KINGFISHER
is a masterpiece of Rafat. In this poem he makes the use of
nature imagery like minnows, birds, and kingfisher. In this
poem Rafat personifies the kingfisher as a poet. A poet is
also as skillful as a kingfisher. The poet observes and
ponders and then masterly composes the piece of poetry.
The kingfisher also observes and fails many times but with
his commitment manages to get his prey.
Bird or Hovercraft, your angling skill
proclaims the confidence
of repeated success; you flash
rainbows as you plunge to kill.
 HALF MOON
Rafat in his other book named HALF MOON writes amazing
poems full of nature imagery. In the poem Half moon from
this collection Rafat again uses nature imagery. He discusses
April, moon. In this poem Rafat is talking about his dying
brother. The tone of the poem is melancholic. In this poem
the image of moon can be taken as the changing varied
modes of love. The moon changes from half to full so this
image can be taken as something is changing. The time is
passing and his brother is dying. Rafat by saying that his
brother will never see the moon again shows that his brother
will die soon and doesn’t have time left.

Where he is
There is no moon,
Not even a half one.
He will never see it again.
 Conclusion
Rafat is in love with nature. He makes the use of nature
imagery in almost every poem he has written. He praises
the beauty of the nature which has been identified in this
research paper. He uses images like trees , birds , flowers
and many other.This paper hence concludes that Rafat
makes the use of nature imagery in his work of poetry.