These are modern English translations of Urdu poems by Mirza Ghalib.
Near Sainthood
by Mirza Ghalib
translation by Kanu V. Prajapati and Michael R. Burch
On the subject of mystic philosophy, Ghalib,
your words might have struck us as deeply profound ...
Hell, we might have pronounced you a saint,
if only we hadn't found
you drunk
as a skunk!
***
Ghazal
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Not the blossomings of song nor the adornments of music:
I am the voice of my own heart breaking.
You toy with your long, dark curls
while I remain captive to my black, pensive thoughts.
We congratulate ourselves that we two are different
but this weakness has burdened us both with inchoate grief.
Now you are here, and I find myself bowing:
as if sadness is a blessing, and longing a sacrament.
I am a fragment of sound rebounding;
you are the walls impounding my echoes.
***
Inquiry
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
The miracle of your absence
is that I found myself endlessly searching for you.
***
The Mistake
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
All your life, O Ghalib, you repeated the same mistake:
Your face was dirty, but you kept cleaning the mirror!
Umar bhar Ghalib ye hi bhool karta raha,
Dhool chehre par thi aur aaina saaf karta raha!
***
Ghazal
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Life becomes even more complicated
when a man can’t think like a man ...
What irrationality makes me so dependent on her
that I rush off an hour early, then get annoyed when she’s "late"?
My lover is so striking! She demands to be seen.
The mirror reflects only her image, yet still dazzles and confounds my eyes.
Love’s stings have left me the deep scar of happiness
while she hovers above me, illuminated.
She promised not to torment me, but only after I was mortally wounded.
How easily she “repents,” my lovely slayer!
***
Ghazal
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
It’s time for the world to hear Ghalib again!
May these words and their shadows like doors remain open.
Tonight the watery mirror of stars appears
while night-blooming flowers gather where beauty rests.
She who knows my desire is speaking,
or at least her lips have recently moved me.
Why is grief the fundamental element of night
when blindness falls as the distant stars rise?
Tell me, how can I be happy vast oceans from home
when mail from my beloved lies here, so recently opened?
***
The Infidel
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Ten thousand desires: each one worth dying for ...
So many fulfilled, and yet still I yearn for more!
Being in love, for me there was no difference between living and dying ...
and so I lived each dying breath watching you, my lovely Infidel, sighing afar.
***
It's Only My Heart!
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
It’s only my heart, not unfeeling stone,
so why be dismayed when it throbs with pain?
It was made to suffer ten thousand darts;
why let one more torment impede us?
***
'Love is exquisite torture.'—Michael R. Burch (written after reading 'It's Only My Heart' by Mirza Ghalib)
***
Bleedings
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Love requires patience while passion races;
must my heart bleed constantly before it expires?
'Aashiqi sabr-talab aur tamanna betaab
Dil kaa kyaa rang karoon khoon-e jigar hone tak.
***
Abstinence?
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Let me get drunk in the mosque,
Or show me the place where God abstains!
Peene de sharab masjid me baith ke Galib
Ya woh jaga bata jaha KHUDA nahi hai!
***
Step Carefully!
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Step carefully Ghalib—this world is merciless!
Here people will "adore" you to win your respect ... or your downfall.
***
Ghazal
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
You should have stayed a little longer;
you left all alone, so why not linger?
We’ll meet again, you said, some other day like this,
as if days like this can ever recur!
You left our house as the moon deserts night’s skies,
as the evening light abandons its cycle.
You hated me: a wife abnormally distant;
you left me before your children were grown.
Only fools ask why Ghalib still lives:
his fate is to live desiring death.
***
Drunk on Love
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Drunk on love, I made her my God.
She quickly informed me God belongs to no man!
***
Exiles
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
We have often heard of Adam's banishment from Eden,
but with far greater humiliation, I abandon your garden.
Nikalna khuld se aadam ka sunte aaye hain lekin,
Bahut be-abroo hokar tere kooche se hum nikale
***
To Whom Shall I Complain?
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
To whom shall I complain when I am denied Good Fortune in acceptable measure?
Dementedly, I demanded Death, but was denied even that dubious pleasure!
***
A lifetime of sighs scarcely reveals its effects,
yet how impatiently I wait for you to untangle your hair!
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Aah ko chaahiye ik 'umr asar hone tak,
Kaun jeeta hai teri zulf ke sar hone tak.
***
Every wave conceals monsters,
and yet teardrops become pearls.
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Daam-e har mauj mein hai halqa-e-sad kaam-e-nahang
Dekhein kya guzre hai qatre pe guhar hone tak.
***
I’ll only wish ill on myself today,
for when I wished for good, bad came my way.
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
khuub tha pahle se hote jo ham apne bad-khvah
ki bhala chahte haiñ aur bura hota hai
***
People don’t change, it’s just that their true colors are revealed.
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Log badalte nhi 'galib' benaqab hote hai
***
Ten thousand desires: each one worth dying for ...
So many fulfilled, and yet still I yearn for more!
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Hazaaron khwaishein aisi ke har khwaaish pe dam nikle,
Bahut nikle mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikle..
***
Oh naïve heart, what will become of you?
Is there no relief for your pain? What will you do?
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
dil-e-naadaa. N tujhe huaa kyaa hai ?
aaKhir is dard kii davaa kyaa hai ?
***
I get that Ghalib is not much,
but when a slave comes free, what’s the problem?
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
mai.n ne maanaa ki kuchh nahii.n 'Ghalib'
muft haath aaye to buraa kyaa hai ?
***
My face lights up whenever I see my lover;
now she thinks my illness has been cured!
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
unhe dekh kar aati hai chehre pe raunak,
aur wo samajhte hain beemar ka haal achha hai
***
I you want to hear rhetoric flower,
hand me the wine decanter.
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Phir dekhiyen andaz-e-gul afshaani-e-guftar;
rakh de koyi paimaan-e-saiba mere aage
***
I tease her, but she remains tight-lipped ...
if only she'd sipped a little wine!
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
main unhein chheDun aur wo kuchh na kahen
chal nikalte jo mai piye hote
***
While you may not ignore me,
I’ll be ashes before you understand me.
—Mirza Ghalib, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
humne maana ke tagaaful na karoge lekin
khaak ho jayenge hum, tumko khabar hone tak
***
Bleedings
by Mirza Ghalib
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Love requires patience but lust is relentless;
what colors must my heart bleed before it expires?
***
No Explanation! (I)
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Please don't ask me how deeply it hurt!
Her sun shone so bright, even the shadows were burning!
***
No Explanation! (II)
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Please don't ask me how it happened!
She didn't bind me, nor did I free myself.
Keywords/Tags: Mirza Ghalib, Urdu, translation, English, modern English, love, relationships, philosophy, saint, sainthood, song, music
These are my English translations of Urdu poems by Jaun Elia, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmad Faraz, Nida Fazli, Mirza Ghalib, Gulzar, Rahat Indori, Allama Iqbal, Amir Khusrow, Mir Taqi Mir, Miraji, Momin Khan Momin, Munir Niazi, Rabindranath Tagore, and other outstanding Urdu poets.
RAHAT INDORI
Intimacy
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I held the Sun, Stars and Moon at a distance
till the time your hands touched mine.
Now I am not a feather to be easily detached:
instruct the hurricanes and tornados to observe their limits!
There are more Rahat Indori translations later on this page.
FAIZ AHMED FAIZ
Last Night
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Last night, your memory stole into my heart—
as spring sweeps uninvited into barren gardens,
as morning breezes reinvigorate dormant deserts,
as a patient suddenly feels better, for no apparent reason …
Published by Reader’s Digest (website) in "Best Romantic Poems"
There are more Faiz Ahmed Faiz translations later on this page.
AMIR KHUSROW
Strange Currents
by Amir Khusrow aka Amir Khusro
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
O Khusrow, the river of love
creates strange currents—
the one who would surface invariably drowns,
while the one who submerges, survives.
There are more Amir Khusrow translations later on this page.
AHMAD FARAZ
The Eager Traveler
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Even in the torture chamber, I was the lucky one;
when each lottery was over, unaccountably I had won.
And even the mightiest rivers found accessible refuge in me;
though I was called an arid desert, I turned out to be the sea.
how sweetly I remember you—oh, my wild, delectable love!—
as the purest white blossoms bloom, on talented branches above.
And while I’m half-convinced that folks adore me in this town,
still, all the hands I kissed held knives and tried to shake me down.
You lost the battle, my coward friend, my craven enemy,
when, to victimize my lonely soul, you sent a despoiling army.
Lost in the wastelands of vast love, I was an eager traveler,
like a breeze in search of your fragrance, a vagabond explorer.
There are more Ahmad Faraz translations later on this page.
ANONYMOUS
You will never comprehend me:
I pour out my feelings; you only read the words!
―original poet unknown, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Tears are colorless―thank God!―
otherwise my pillow might betray my heart.
―original poet unknown, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
ALLAMA IQBAL
These are my translations of poems by Sir Muhammad Iqbal, also known as Allama Iqbāl, with Allāma meaning "The Learned One," a Lahori Muslim poet, philosopher and politician.
had-e-Tifli (“The Age of Infancy”)
by Allama Iqbal aka Muhammad Iqbal
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The earth and the heavens remained unknown to me,
My mother's bosom was my only world.
Her embraces communicated life's joys
While I babbled meaningless sounds.
During my infancy if someone alarmed me
The clank of the door chain consoled me.
At night I observed the moon,
Following its flight through distant clouds.
By day I pondered earth’s terrain
Only to be surprised by convenient explanations.
My eyes ingested light, my lips sought speech,
I was curiosity incarnate.
Withered Roses
by Allama Iqbal
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
What shall I call you,
but the nightingale's desire?
The morning breeze was your nativity,
an afternoon garden, your sepulchre.
My tears welled up like dew,
till in my abandoned heart your rune grew:
this memento of love,
this spray of withered roses.
Excerpt from Rumuz-e bikhudi (“The Mysteries of Selflessness”)
by Allama Iqbal aka Muhammad Iqbal
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Like a candle fending off the night,
I consumed myself, melting into tears.
I spent myself, to create more light,
More beauty and joy for my peers.
Longing
by Allama Iqbal
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Lord, I’ve grown tired of human assemblies!
I long to avoid conflict! My heart craves peace!
I desperately desire the silence of a small mountainside hut!
Life Advice
by Allama Iqbāl
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
This passive nature will not allow you to survive;
If you want to live, raise a storm!
Destiny
by Allama Iqbal
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Isn't it futile to complain about God's will,
When you are your own destiny?
MOMIN KHAN MOMIN
Being
by Momin Khan Momin
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
You are so close to me
that no one else ever can be.
There is a legend that the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib offered all his diwan (poetry collections) in exchange for this one sher (couplet) by Momin Khan Momin. Does the couplet mean "be as close" or "be, at all"? Does it mean "You are with me in a way that no one else can ever be?" Or does it mean that no one else can ever exist as truly as one's true love? Or does this sher contain an infinite number of elusive meanings, like love itself?
Being (II)
by Momin Khan Momin
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
You alone are with me when I am alone.
You are beside me when I am beside myself.
You are as close to me as everyone else is afar.
You are so close to me that no one else ever can be.
There are more Momin Khan Momin translations later on this page.
FAIZ AHMED FAIZ
Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) was an influential Pakistani intellectual and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. His reputation is such that he has been called "the Poet of the East." His name is often spelled Faiz Ahmad Faiz in English. These are my modern English translations of Urdu poems by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Last Night
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Last night, your memory stole into my heart—
as spring sweeps uninvited into barren gardens,
as morning breezes reinvigorate dormant deserts,
as a patient suddenly feels better, for no apparent reason …
Published by Reader’s Digest (website) in "Best Romantic Poems"
Last Night (II)
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Last night, your memory stole into my heart ...
as spring steals uninvited into barren gardens,
as gentle breezes revive dormant deserts,
as a patient suddenly feels better, for no apparent reason ...
Last Night (III)
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Last night, your lost memory returned ...
as spring steals silently into barren gardens,
as gentle breezes stir desert sands,
as an ailing man suddenly recovers, for no apparent reason ...
Raat yunh dil mein teri khoee hui yaad aayee
Jaise veeraaney mein chupkey sey bahaar aayee
Jaisey sehra on mein howley se chaley baadey naseem
Jaisey beemaar ko bey wajhey Qaraar aaye.
The Desert of Solitude
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, as performed by Iqbal Bano
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
In the wastelands of solitude, my love,
the echoes of your voice quiver,
the mirages of your lips waver.
In the deserts of alienation,
out of the expanses of distance and isolation's debris
the fragrant jasmines and roses of your presence delicately blossom.
Now from somewhere nearby,
the warmth of your breath rises,
smoldering forth an exotic perfume―gently, languorously.
Now far-off, across the distant horizon,
drop by shimmering drop,
fall the glistening dews of your beguiling glances.
With such tenderness and affection—oh my love!—
your memory has touched my heart's cheek so that it now seems
the sun of separation has set; the night of blessed union has arrived.
Speak!
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Speak, while your lips are still free.
Speak, while your tongue remains yours.
Speak, while you’re still standing upright.
Speak, while your spirit has force.
See how, in the bright-sparking forge,
cunning flames set dull ingots aglow
as the padlocks release their clenched grip
on the severed chains hissing below.
Speak, in this last brief hour,
before the bold tongue lies dead.
Speak, while the truth can be spoken.
Say what must yet be said.
Speak! (II)
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Speak, if your lips are free.
Speak, if your tongue's still your own.
And while you can still stand upright,
Speak if your mind is your own.
Tonight
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Do not strike the melancholy chord tonight! Days smoldering
with pain in the end produce only listless ashes...
and who the hell knows what the future may bring?
Last night’s long lost, tomorrow's horizon’s a wavering mirage.
And how can we know if we’ll see another dawn?
Life is nothing, unless together we make it ring!
Tonight we are love gods! Sing!
Do not strike the melancholy chord tonight!
Don’t harp constantly on human suffering!
Stop complaining; let Fate conduct her song!
Give no thought to the future, seize now, this precious thing!
Shed no more tears for temperate seasons departed!
All sighs of the brokenhearted soon weakly dissipate... stop dithering!
Oh, do not strike the same flat chord again! Sing!
Do Not Ask
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Do not ask, my love, for the love that we shared before:
You existed, I told myself, so existence shone.
For a moment the only light that I knew, alone,
was yours; worldly griefs remained dark, distant, afar.
Spring shone, as revealed in your face, but what did I know?
Beyond your bright eyes, what delights could the sad world hold?
Had I won you, cruel Fate would have ceded, no longer bold.
Yet all this was not to be, though I wished it so.
The world knows sorrows beyond love’s brief dreams betrayed,
and pleasures beyond all sweet, idle ideals of romance:
the dread dark spell of countless centuries and chance
is woven with silk and satin and gold brocade.
Bodies are sold everywhere for a pittance—it’s true!
Besmeared with dirt and bathed in bright oceans of blood,
Crawling from infested ovens, a gory cud.
My gaze returns to you: what else can I do?
Your beauty haunts me still, and will to the last.
But the world is burdened by sorrows beyond those of love,
By pleasures beyond romance.
So please do not demand a love that is over, and past.
When Autumn Came
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
So it was that autumn came to flay the trees,
to strip them nude,
to rudely abase their slender dark bodies.
Fall fell in vengeance on the dying leaves,
flung them down to the floor of the forest
where anyone could trample them to mush
undeterred by their sighs of protest.
The birds that herald spring
were exiled from their songs—
the notes ripped from their sweet throats,
they plummeted to the earth below, undone
even before the hunter strung his bow.
Please, gods of May, have mercy!
Bless these disintegrating corpses
with the passion of your resurrection;
allow their veins to pulse with blood again.
Let at least one tree remain green.
Let one bird sing.
Wasted
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
You have noticed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips...
In whose imagination I have lost everything.
Countless
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
I recounted the world's countless griefs
by recounting your image countless times.
Keywords/Tags: Faiz Ahmed Faiz, translation, Urdu, Pakistan, Pakistani, love, life, memory, spring, mrburdu
The Condition of My Heart
by Munir Niazi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
It is not necessary for anyone else to get excited:
The condition of my heart is not the condition of hers.
But were we to receive any sort of good news, Munir,
How spectacular compared to earth's mundane sunsets!
There are more Munir Niazi translations later on this page.
Failures
by Nida Fazli
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I was unable to relate
the state
of my heart to her,
while she failed to infer
the nuances
of my silences.
There are more Nida Fazli translations later on this page.
My Apologies, Sona
by Gulzar
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My apologies, Sona,
if traversing my verse's terrain
in these torrential rains
inconvenienced you.
The monsoons are unseasonal here.
My poems' pitfalls are sometimes sodden.
Water often overflows these ditches.
If you stumble and fall here, you run the risk
of spraining an ankle.
My apologies, however,
if you were inconvenienced
because my dismal verse lacks light,
or because my threshold's stones
interfered as you passed.
I have often cracked toenails against them!
As for the streetlamp at the intersection,
it remains unlit... endlessly indecisive.
If you were inconvenienced,
you have my heartfelt apologies!
There are more Gulzar translations later on this page.
Come As You Are
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Come as you are, forget appearances!
Is your hair untamable, your part uneven, your bodice unfastened? Never mind.
Come as you are, forget appearances!
Skip with quicksilver steps across the grass.
If your feet glisten with dew, if your anklets slip, if your beaded necklace slides off? Never mind.
Skip with quicksilver steps across the grass.
Do you see the clouds enveloping the sky?
Flocks of cranes erupt from the riverbank, fitful gusts ruffle the fields, anxious cattle tremble in their stalls.
Do you see the clouds enveloping the sky?
You loiter in vain over your toilet lamp; it flickers and dies in the wind.
Who will care that your eyelids have not been painted with lamp-black, when your pupils are darker than thunderstorms?
You loiter in vain over your toilet lamp; it flickers and dies in the wind.
Come as you are, forget appearances!
If the wreath lies unwoven, who cares? If the bracelet is unfastened, let it fall. The sky grows dark; it is late.
Come as you are, forget appearances!
Unfit Gifts
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
At sunrise, I cast my nets into the sea,
dredging up the strangest and most beautiful objects from the depths...
some radiant like smiles, some glittering like tears, others flushed like brides’ cheeks.
When I returned, staggering under their weight, my love was relaxing in her garden, idly tearing leaves from flowers.
Hesitant, I placed all I had produced at her feet, silently awaiting her verdict.
She glanced down disdainfully, then pouted: "What are these bizarre things? I have no use for them!"
I bowed my head, humiliated, and thought:
"Truly, I did not contend for them; I did not purchase them in the marketplace; they are unfit gifts for her!"
That night I flung them, one by one, into the street, like refuse.
The next morning travelers came, picked them up and carted them off to exotic countries.
The Seashore Gathering
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
On the seashores of endless worlds, earth's children converge.
The infinite sky is motionless, the restless waters boisterous.
On the seashores of endless worlds earth's children gather to dance with joyous cries and pirouettes.
They build sand castles and play with hollow shells.
They weave boats out of withered leaves and laughingly float them out over the vast deep.
Earth's children play gaily on the seashores of endless worlds.
They do not know, yet, how to cast nets or swim.
Divers fish for pearls and merchants sail their ships, while earth's children skip, gather pebbles and scatter them again.
They are unaware of hidden treasures, nor do they know how to cast nets, yet.
The sea surges with laughter, smiling palely on the seashore.
Death-dealing waves sing the children meaningless songs, like a mother lullabying her baby's cradle.
The sea plays with the children, smiling palely on the seashore.
On the seashores of endless worlds earth's children meet.
Tempests roam pathless skies, ships lie wrecked in uncharted waters, death wanders abroad, and still the children play.
On the seashores of endless worlds there is a great gathering of earth's children.
This Dog
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Each morning this dog,
who has become quite attached to me,
sits silently at my feet
until, gently caressing his head,
I acknowledge his company.
This simple recognition gives my companion such joy
he shudders with sheer delight.
Among all languageless creatures
he alone has seen through man entire—
has seen beyond what is good or bad in him
to such a depth he can lay down his life
for the sake of love alone.
Now it is he who shows me the way
through this unfathomable world throbbing with life.
When I see his deep devotion,
his offer of his whole being,
I fail to comprehend...
How, through sheer instinct,
has he discovered whatever it is that he knows?
With his anxious piteous looks
he cannot communicate his understanding
and yet somehow has succeeded in conveying to me
out of the entire creation
the true loveworthiness of man.
Perhaps
by Momin Khan Momin
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The cohesiveness between us, you may remember or perhaps not.
Our solemn oaths of faithfulness, you may remember, or perhaps forgot.
If something happened that was not to your liking,
the shrinking away that produces silence, you may remember, or perhaps not.
Listen, the sagas of so many years, the promises you made amid time's onslaught,
which you now fail to mention, you may remember or perhaps not.
These new resentments, those often rehashed complaints,
these lighthearted and displeasing stories, you may remember, or perhaps forgot.
Some seasons ago we shared love and desire, we shared joy...
That we once were dear friends, you may have perhaps forgot.
Now if we come together, by fate or by chance, to express old loyalties...
Our every shared breath, all our sighs and regrets, you may remember, or perhaps not.
What Happened to Them?
by Nasir Kazmi
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Those who went ashore, what happened to them?
Those who sailed away, what happened to them?
Those who were coming at dawn, when dawn never arrived ...
Those caravans en route, what happened to them?
Those I awaited each night on moonless paths,
Who were meant to light beacons, what happened to them?
Who are all these strange people surrounding me now?
All my lost friends and allies, what happened to them?
Those who built these blazing buildings, what happened to them?
Those who were meant to uplift us, what happened to them?
This poignant, very moving poem was written about the 1947 partition of India into two nations: India and Pakistan. I take the following poem to be about the aftermath of the division.
Climate Change
by Nasir Kazmi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The songs of our silenced lips are different.
The expressions of our regretful hearts are different.
In milder climes our grief was more tolerable,
But the burdens we bear now are different.
O, walkers of awareness's road, keep your watch!
The obstacles strewn on this stony path are different.
We neither fear separation, nor desire union;
The anxieties of my rebellious heart are different.
In the first leaf-fall only flowers fluttered from twigs;
This year the omens of autumn are different.
This world lacks the depth to understand my heartache;
Please endow me with melodies, for my cry is different!
One disconcerting glance bared my being;
Now in barren fields my visions are different.
No more troops, nor flags. Neither money, nor fame.
The marks of the monarchs on this land are different.
Men are not martyred for their beloveds these days.
The youths of my youth were so very different!
Nasir Kazmi Couplets
When I was a child learning to write
my first scribblings were your name.
―Nasir Kazmi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
When my feet lost the path
where was your hand?
―Nasir Kazmi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Everything I found is yours;
everything I lost is also yours.
―Nasir Kazmi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Memory
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, as performed by Iqbal Bano
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
In the wastelands of solitude, my love,
the echoes of your voice quiver,
the mirages of your lips waver.
In the deserts of alienation,
out of the expanses of distance and isolation's debris
the fragrant jasmines and roses of your presence delicately blossom.
Now from somewhere nearby,
the warmth of your breath rises,
smoldering forth an exotic perfume―gently, languorously.
Now far-off, across the distant horizon,
drop by shimmering drop,
fall the glistening dews of your beguiling glances.
With such tenderness and affection—oh my love!—
your memory has touched my heart's cheek so that it now seems
the sun of separation has set; the night of blessed union has arrived.
Speak!
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Speak, if your lips are free.
Speak, if your tongue is still your own.
While your body is still upright,
Speak if your life is still your own.
When Autumn Came
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
So it was that autumn came to flay the trees,
to strip them nude,
to rudely abase their slender dark bodies.
Fall fell in vengeance on the dying leaves,
flung them down to the floor of the forest
where anyone could trample them to mush
undeterred by their sighs of protest.
The birds that herald spring
were exiled from their songs—
the notes ripped from their sweet throats,
they plummeted to the earth below, undone
even before the hunter strung his bow.
Please, gods of May, have mercy!
Bless these disintegrating corpses
with the passion of your resurrection;
allow their veins to pulse with blood again.
Let at least one tree remain green.
Let one bird sing.
Last Night (II)
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Last night, your lost memory returned...
as spring steals silently into barren gardens,
as cool breezes stir desert sands,
as an ailing man suddenly feels better, for no apparent reason...
Couplets
by Jaun Elia
loose translations by Michael R. Burch
I am strange—so strange
that I self-destructed and don't regret it.
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The wound is deep—companions, friends—embrace me!
What, did you not even bother to stay?
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My nature is so strange
that today I felt relieved when you didn't arrive.
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Night and day I awaited myself;
now you return me to myself.
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Greeting me this cordially,
have you so easily erased my memory?
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Your lips have provided thousands of answers;
so what is the point of complaining now?
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Perhaps I haven't fallen in love with anyone,
but at least I convinced them!
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The city of mystics has become bizarre:
everyone is wary of majesty, have you heard?
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Did you just say "Love is eternal"?
Is this the end of us?
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
You are drawing very close to me!
Have you decided to leave?
―Jaun Elia, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Intimacy
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I held the Sun, Stars and Moon at a distance
till the time your hands touched mine.
Now I am not a feather to be easily detached:
instruct the hurricanes and tornados to observe their limits!
The Mad Moon
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Stars have a habit of showing off,
but the mad moon sojourns in darkness.
Body Language
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Your body’s figures are written in cursive!
How will I read you? Hand me the book!
Insatiable
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
This mighty ocean, so deep and vast!
If it sates my thirst, how long can it last?
Honor
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Achievements may fade but the name remains strong;
walls may buckle but the roof stays on.
On a pile of corpses a child stands alone
and declares that his family still lives on!
Dust in the Wind
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
This is how I introduce myself to questioners:
Pick up a handful of dust, then blow...
Dissembler
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
In your eyes this, in your heart that, on your lips something else?
If this is how you are, impress someone else!
Rumor (M)ill
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I heard rumors my health was bad; still
it was prying people who made me ill.
The Vortex
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I am the river whose rapids form a vortex;
You were wise to avoid my banks.
Homebound
by Rahat Indori
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
If people fear what they meet at every turn,
why do they ever leave the house?
Becoming One
by Amir Khusrow
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I have become you, as you have become me;
I am your body, you my Essence.
Now no one can ever say
that you are someone else,
or that I am anything less than your Presence!
I Am a Pagan
by Amir Khusrow
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I am a pagan disciple of love: I need no creeds.
My every vein has become taut, like a tuned wire.
I do not need the Brahman's girdle.
Leave my bedside, ignorant physician!
The only cure for love is the sight of the patient's beloved:
there is no other medicine he needs!
If our boat lacks a pilot, let there be none:
we have god in our midst: we do not fear the sea!
The people say Khusrow worships idols:
True! True! But he does not need other people's approval;
he does not need the world's.
(My translation above was informed by a translation of Dr. Hadi Hasan.)
Amir Khusrow’s elegy for his mother
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Wherever you shook the dust from your feet
is my relic of paradise!
Paradise
by Amir Khusrow
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
If there is an earthly paradise,
It's here! It's here! It's here!
Mystery
by Munir Niazi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
She was a mystery:
Her lips were parched...
but her eyes were two unfathomable oceans.
I continued delaying...
by Munir Niazi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I continued delaying...
the words I should speak
the promises I should keep
the one I should dial
despite her cruel denial
I continued delaying...
the shoulder I must offer
the hand I must proffer
the untraveled lanes
we may not see again
I continued delaying...
long strolls through the seasons
for my own selfish reasons
the remembrances of lovers
to erase thoughts of others
I continued delaying...
to save someone dear
from eternities unclear
to make her aware
of our reality here
I continued delaying...
Couplets
by Mir Taqi Mir
loose translations by Michael R. Burch
Sharpen the barbs of every thorn, O lunatic desert!
Perhaps another hobbler, limping by on blistered feet, follows me!
―Mir Taqi Mir, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My life is a bubble,
this world an illusion.
―Mir Taqi Mir, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Selflessness has gotten me nowhere:
I neglected myself far too long.
―Mir Taqi Mir, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I know now that I know nothing,
and it only took me a lifetime to learn!
―Mir Taqi Mir, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Love's just beginning, so why do you whine?
Why not wait and watch how things unwind!
―Mir Taqi Mir, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Come!
by Gulzar
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Come, let us construct night
over the monumental edifice of silence.
Come, let us clothe ourselves in the winding sheets of darkness,
where we'll ignite our bodies' incandescent wax.
As the midnight dew dances its delicate ballet,
let us not disclose the slightest whispers of our breath!
Lost in night's mists,
let us lie immersed in love's fragrance,
absorbing our bodies' musky aromas!
Let us rise like rustling spirits...
Old Habits Die Hard
by Gulzar
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The habit of breathing
is an odd tradition.
Why struggle so to keep on living?
The body shudders,
the eyes veil,
yet the feet somehow keep moving.
Why this journey, this restless, relentless flowing?
For how many weeks, months, years, centuries
shall we struggle to keep on living, keep on living?
Habits are such strange things, such hard things to break!
Inconclusive
by Gulzar
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
A body lies on a white bed—
dead, abandoned,
a forsaken corpse they forgot to bury.
They concluded its death was not their concern.
I hope they return and recognize me,
then bury me so I can breathe.
Munir Momin writes poems in Balochi. Balochi is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken primarily in the Balochistan region of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
Only for an evening
let my heart
soar momentarily
with the starlings of silence
fleeing the solitude of your eyes.
—Munir Momin, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
They sail ahead at the same speed
yet the moon reaches the beach
long before the boats.
—Munir Momin, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Night and Day
by Munir Momin
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Night after night
the world screams
invective against
my solitude,
then sneaks out
the cracked backdoor window
but doesn’t make it far
beyond the city’s confines;
then in the morning,
acting as if nothing untoward happened,
it greets me,
having forgotten all about its rants
and my loneliness,
then accompanies me
like a friend
through the front door.
Wasted
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
You have noticed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips...
In whose imagination I have lost everything.
Countless
by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I recounted the world's countless griefs
by recounting your image countless times.
Every Once in a While
by Amjad Islam Amjad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Every once in a while,
immersed in these muggy nights
when all earth’s voices seem to have fallen
into the bruised-purple silence of half-sleep,
I awaken from a wonderful dream
to see through the veil that drifts between us
that you too are companionless and wide awake.
First Rendezvous
by Amjad Islam Amjad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
This story of the earth
is as old as the universe,
as old as the birth
of the first day and night.
This story of the sky
is included in the words we casually uttered,
you and I,
and yet it remains incomplete, till the end of sight.
This earth and all the scenes it contains
remain witnesses to the moment
when you first held my hand
as we watched the world unfolding, together.
This world
became the focus
for the first rendezvous
between us.
Impossible and Improbable Visions
by Amjad Islam Amjad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Eyes interpret visions,
rainbow auras waver;
similar scenes appear
different to individual eyes,
as innumerable oases
coexist in one desert
or a single thought acquires
countless shapes.
I Have to Find My Lost Star
by Amjad Islam Amjad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Searching the emptiest of skies
overflowing with innumerable stars,
I have to find the one
that belongs
to me.
...
Gazing at galaxies beyond galaxies,
all glorious with evolving wonder,
I ponder her name,
finding no sign to remember.
...
Lost things, they say,
are sometimes found
in the same accumulations of dust
where they once vanished.
I have to find the lost star
that belongs to me.
O God!
by Qateel Shifai
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Torture my heart, O God!
If you so desire, leave me a madman, O God!
Have I asked for the moon and stars?
Enlighten my heart and give my eyes sight, O God!
We have all seen this disk called the sun,
Now give us a real dawn, O God!
Either relieve our pains here on this earth
Or make my heart granite, O God!
Hereafter
by Qateel Shifai
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Since we met and parted, how can we sleep hereafter?
Lost in each others' remembrance, must we not weep hereafter?
Deluges of our tears will keep us awake all night:
Our eyelashes strung with strands of pearls, hereafter!
Thoughts of our separation will sear our grieving hearts
Unless we immerse them in the cooling moonlight, hereafter!
If the storm also deceives us, crying Qateel!,
We will scuttle our boats near forsaken shores, hereafter.
Picnic
by Parveen Shakir
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My friends laugh elsewhere on the beach
while I sit here, alone, counting the waves,
writing and rewriting your name in the sand...
Confession
by Parveen Shakir
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Your image overwhelmed my vision.
As the long nights passed, I became obsessed with your visage.
Then came the moment when I quietly placed my lips to your picture...
Rain
by Parveen Shakir
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Why shiver alone in the rain, maiden?
Embrace the one in whose warming love your body and mind would be drenched!
There are no rains higher than the rains of Love,
after which the bright rainbows of separation will glow with the mysteries of hues.
My Body's Moods
by Parveen Shakir
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I long for the day when you'll be obsessed with me,
when, forgetting the world, you'll miss me with a passion
and stop complaining about my reticence!
Then I may forget all other transactions and liabilities
to realize my world in your arms,
letting my body's moods guide me.
In that moment beyond boundaries and limitations
as we defy the conventions of veil and turban,
let's try our luck and steal a taste of the forbidden fruit!
Moon
by Parveen Shakir
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
All of us passengers,
we share the same fate.
And yet I'm alone here on earth,
and she alone there in the sky!
Vanity
by Parveen Shakir
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
His world is so simple, so very different from mine.
So distinct—his dreams and desires.
He speaks rarely.
This morning he wrote: "I saw some lovely flowers and thought of you."
Ha! I know my aging face is no orchid...
but how I wish I could believe whatever he says, however momentarily!
Come
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Come, even with anguish, even to torture my heart;
Come, even if only to abandon me to torment again.
Come, if not for our past commerce,
Then to faithfully fulfill the ancient barbaric rituals.
Who else can recite the reasons for our separation?
Come, despite your reluctance, to continue the litanies, the ceremony.
Respect, even if only a little, the depth of my love for you;
Come, someday, to offer me consolation as well.
Too long you have deprived me of the pathos of longing;
Come again, my love, if only to make me weep.
Till now, my heart still suffers some slight expectation;
So come, snuff out even the last flickering torch of hope!
I Cannot Remember
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I once was a poet too (you gave life to my words), but now I cannot remember
Since I have forgotten you (my love!), my art too I cannot remember
Yesterday consulting my heart, I learned
that your hair, lips, mouth, I cannot remember
In the city of the intellect insanity is silence
But now your sweet, spontaneous voice, its fluidity, I cannot remember
Once I was unfamiliar with wrecking balls and ruins
But now the cultivation of gardens, I cannot remember
Now everyone shops at the store selling arrows and quivers
But neglects his own body, the client he cannot remember
Since time has brought me to a desert of such arid forgetfulness
Even your name may perish; I cannot remember
In this narrow state of being, lacking a country,
even the abandonment of my fellow countrymen, I cannot remember
Alone
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Why are you sad that she goes on alone, Faraz?
After all, you said yourself that she was unique!
Separation
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Faraz, if it were easy to be apart,
would Angels have to separate body from soul?
Time
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
What if my face has more wrinkles than yours?
I am merely well-worn by Time!
Miraji Epigrams
I'm obsessed with this thought:
does God possess mercy?
―Miraji, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Come, see this dance, the immaculate dance of the devadasi!
―Miraji, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Echoes of an ancient prophecy:
when my life has come and gone,
when I am dead and done,
perhaps someone
hearing again in a distant spring
will echo my songs
the world over.
―Miraji, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
If I understand things correctly, Miraji wrote the lines above after translating a verse by Sappho in which she said that her poems would be remembered in the future. I suspect both poets and both prophecies were correct!
Apni Marzi se
by Nida Fazli Shayari
translated by Mandakini Bhattacherya and Michael R. Burch
This journey was not of my making;
As the winds blow, I’m blown along ...
Time and dust are my ancient companions;
Who knows where I’m bound or belong?
Apni Marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain,
Rukh hawaaon ka jidhar ka hai udhar ke hum hain.
Waqt ke saath mitti ka safar sadiyon se,
Kisko maaloom kahan ke hain kidhar ke hum hain.
Every Day and in Every Direction
by Nida Fazli
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Everywhere and in every direction we see innumerable people:
each man a victim of his own loneliness, reticence and silences.
From dawn to dusk men carry enormous burdens:
all preparing graves for their soon-to-be corpses.
Each day a man lives, the same day he dies.
Each new day requires the same old patience.
In every direction there are roads for him to roam,
but in every direction, men victimize men.
Every day a man dies many deaths only to resurrect from his ashes.
Each new day presents new challenges.
Life's destiny is not fixed, but a series of journeys:
thus, till his last breath, a man remains restless.
Couplets
by Nida Fazli
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
It was my fate to entangle and sink myself
because I am a boat and my ocean lies within.
―Nida Fazli, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
You were impossible to forget once you were gone:
hell, I remembered you most when I tried to forget you!
―Nida Fazli, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Don't squander these pearls:
such baubles may ornament sleepless nights!
―Nida Fazli, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The world is like a deck of cards on a gambling table:
some of us are bound to loose while others cash in.
―Nida Fazli, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
There is a proper protocol for everything in this world:
when visiting gardens never force butterflies to vacate their flowers!
―Nida Fazli, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Since I lack the courage to commit suicide,
I have elected to bother people with my life a bit longer.
―Nida Fazli, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Changing Seasons
by Noshi Gillani
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Each changing season
reveals something
concealed by her fears:
an escape route from this island
illuminated by her tears.
Dust
by Bahadur Shah Zafar or Muztar Khairabadi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Unable to light anyone's eye
or to comfort anyone's heart...
I am nothing but a handful of dust.
Piercings
by Firaq Gorakhpuri
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
No one ever belonged to anyone else for a lifetime.
We cannot own another's soul.
The beauty we see and the love we feel are only illusions.
All my life I tried to save myself from the piercings of your eyes...
But I failed and the daggers ripped right through me.
Salvation
Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Anxious and fatigued, I consider the salvation of death...
But if there is no peace in the grave,
where can I go to be saved?
Child of the Century
by Abdellatif Laâbi (a Moroccan poet)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I’m a child of this dreary century, a child who never grew up.
Doubts that ignited my tongue singed my wings.
I learned to walk, then I unlearned progress.
I grew weary of oases and camels infatuated with ruins.
My head inclined East only to occupy the middle of the road
as I awaited the insane caravans.
Nostalgia
by Abdulla Pashew (a Kurdish poet)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
How I desire the heavens!
Each solitary star lights the way to a tryst.
How I desire the sky!
Standing alone, remote, the sky is as vast as any ocean.
How I desire love's heavenly scent!
When each enticing blossom releases its essence.
Oblivion
by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi (an African poet who writes in Arabic)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Discard your pen
before you start reading;
consider the ink,
how it encompasses bleeding.
Learn from the horizon
through eyes' narrowed slits
the limitations of vision
and hands' treacherous writs.
Do not blame me,
nor indeed anyone,
if you expire before
your reading is done.
In Medias Res
by Shaad Azimabadi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
When I heard the story of my life recounted,
I caught only the middle of the tale.
I remain unaware of the beginning or end.
Debt Relief
by Piyush Mishra
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
We save Sundays for our loved ones...
all other days we slave to repay debts.
Reoccurrence
by Amrita Bharati (a Hindi poet)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
It was a woman's heart speaking,
that had been speaking for eons...
It was a woman's heart silenced,
that had been silenced for centuries...
And between them loomed a mountain
that a man or a rat gnawed at, even in times of amity...
gnawing at the screaming voice,
at the silent tongue,
from the primeval day.
Don't Approach Me
by Arif Farhad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Don't approach me here by the river of time
where I flop like a fish in a net!
Intoxicants
by Amrut Ghayal (a Gujarati poet)
translation by Kanu V. Prajapati and Michael R. Burch
O, my contrary mind!
You're such a fool, afraid to drink the fruit of the vine!
But show me anything universe-designed
that doesn't intoxicate, like wine.
I’m like a commodity being priced in the market-place:
every eye ogles me like a buyer’s.
—Majrooh Sultanpuri, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
If you insist, I’ll continue playing my songs,
forever piping the flute of my heart.
—Majrooh Sultanpuri, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The moon has risen once again, yet you are not here.
My heart is a blazing pyre; what do I do?
—Majrooh Sultanpuri, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Bi Havre ('Together')
possibly the oldest Kurdish poem
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I want us to be together:
we would eat together,
climb the mountain together,
sing songs together, songs of love,
songs from the heart, sung from above.
I want us to have one heart, together.
Many words in this ancient poem are in doubt, so I have excerpted what I grok to be the central meaning.
How strange has life become:
Our evenings drag out, yet our years keep flashing by!
―original poet unknown, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Dilemma
by Michael R. Burch
While I reject your absence,
I find your presence equally intolerable.
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