There was a heart which blew away, the light
There was a heart which blew away, the light
Light O god, O god light
Whatever everyone calls you, they are your names
Flowers, fragrance, stars, breeze, light
The afternoon dawned in the boundaries of the evening
Who was in the heart and said, light
No use decorating the stars now
The season to meet him is gone, light
At the brow of the dawn in some dream
I wrote with my eyes, light
We are caught in dual curses
Living in the darkness and perceiving light
The literal translation of this poem was made by Nukhbah Langah
The final translated version of the poem is by Lavinia Greenlaw
Notes
Translators note: The theme of duality, life and death is strangely intertwined with the idea of light, hope amongst the other paradoxes in this poem. Although written in simple Urdu, the poem offers a challenge of translating these paradoxes through finding a parallel English word. The poet not only communicates with god, acknowledges a presence but also suffocates in the darkness and therefore desires ‘light'---or perhaps a space for expression, fresh air or life. Again, the rhyme scheme is ab cb db in the Urdu version of the poem.
© Poetry Translation Centre 2004-2012
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