Neither a dream, nor a friend
Neither a dream, nor a friend
I was alone in this love
When were you true in love
I was the one to face torture
I don't remember anything now but
There was a river or a house
One that complicated the heart
Was it love or a riddle?
If I was slightly disloyal
You had taken my breath away
The snakes of time have eaten them up
I had a jasmine in my courtyard
Who can I tell on this sad evening
How bright was my hand (destiny)
The literal translation of this poem was made by Nukhbah Langah
The final translated version of the poem is by Lavinia Greenlaw
Notes
Translator's note: This is a love poem. The poet nostalgically remembers the moments when she was in love yet due to the grief experienced through this love pretends that this experience has turned into a distant memory. Love, therefore, turns into a complicated riddle, a flower which has been eaten by the snakes of time and finally a curse which has changed her destiny lines. It might be difficult to capture the abab rhyme scheme of each couplet in original Urdu version when translating it into English and maintain the past tense through out the poem.
© Poetry Translation Centre 2004-2012
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