Category Archives: Poems

This Time It Seems

April 23, 2020Poemsbeauty, courageous, creativity, depths of my heart, desolate, dream, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, illusion, imagination, poem, poetry, refuge, Satori Publishing, sorrow, spirit, stranger, This Time It Seems, timeless, translation, universal, Urdu to English, windows of my eyessatoripublishing2013

This time it seems as if there is nothing anywhere
No moon or sun, no darkness, no dawn

No image of any Beauty in the windows of my eyes
No refuge for any pain in the depths of my heart

Perhaps in the dense branches of Imagination’s tree
Some dream will now come and make a home there

Maybe it was an illusion, perhaps I did hear
Footsteps walking the streets one last time

Now, no malice, no love, nor any bond, no relation
None is your own, to me none is a stranger

Agreed that this desolate time is very harsh
But, my heart, this is only one such time
Be courageous, a whole life remains to live.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

Loneliness

April 22, 2020Poemsalone, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, haze of stars, loneliness, poem, poetry, remove the wine, Satori Publishing, sleepy lamps, snuff out the lamps, spirit, timeless, tormented, translation, universal, Urdu to Englishsatoripublishing2013

Again, someone has come, tormented heart! No, it is no one
Probably a passer by, on his way to another place

The night has faded, the haze of stars begin to disperse
In the hallways the sleepy lamps begin to flicker
The street is asleep, worn out by watching every path
Dust, like a stranger, blurs all trace of footsteps

Snuff out the lamps, remove the wine, decanter and goblet
Lock up your dreamless doors
No one here up to now, no one to come!

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

( c ) Satori Publishing, 2020.poem

A Few Days More

April 14, 2020PoemsA Few Days More, alien hands, beauty, cruelty, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, flames, food for thought, History, hopeless cry, imprisoned, injustice, legacy, moonlit nights, oppression, patch of pain, pauper, poem, poetry, Satori Publishing, spirit, timeless, translation, truth, tyranny, universal, Urdu to English, wildernesssatoripublishing2013

A few days more, my dearest, only a few days
We are forced to draw breath in the shadow of tyranny
Bear this injustice a while longer, and tremble, and weep
By our forefathers’ legacy we have been crippled

Our bodies imprisoned, our feelings enchained
Our thoughts captive, our speech sanctioned
Credit to our courage that we still go on living
Is life but a pauper’s loose cloak, on which
Every hour a patch of pain is stitched?

But now the period of cruelty has few days left
A little more patience, our pleading has few days left
A long time in the scorched wilderness of this world
We have to exist, but this is not how we have to live
Alien hands causing unspeakably heavy oppression
Bear it today, but it will not be borne always

This dust of sorrow flames out from your beauty
This the measure of your defeated two-day youth
The pain of the useless glow from moonlit nights
The heart’s pointless beat, the body’s hopeless cry
A few days more, my dearest, only a few days.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz).

Tonight

April 12, 2020Poemsavatar, chords, destiny, Divinity, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, future past, Godhead, grief, Inspiration, mournful melody, pain, pluck, poem, poetry, Satori Publishing, spirit, suffering, timeless, Tonight, translation, truth, universal, Urdu to Englishsatoripublishing2013

Tonight do not pluck the chords of pain
All the days of suffering are concluded
Who knows the news of tomorrow?
Blurred are the lines between past and future
Who knows if another day will dawn?
Life is nothing! Apart from this night!
Divinity is possible! On this night!

Tonight do not pluck the chords of pain
Do not repeat tales about the cries of grief
Do not be in mourning over your destiny
Remove fear of the future from the heart
Do not be tearful over the life past
Do not ask for stories about the time of sorrow
Do not ask, all the complaining is done
Tonight do not pluck the chords of pain.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

On The Pathway

April 11, 2020Poemsaltar to Love, blessings, cascading, Creator, elegant grace, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, naughty, On The Pathway, passion, pleasures, poem, poet, poetry, prayer, Satori Publishing, spirit, teasing, temptation, three springs of heaven, timeless, translation, truth, universal, Urdu to English, wine, wine and songsatoripublishing2013

A hundred thousand pleasures hidden in her looks
Blessings of heaven hidden in her beauty
A thousand temptations like dust under her teasing feet
Every single glance coloured by the intoxication of youth

Youth, the mere thought causes lightning to flash
Modesty, desires the companionship of the naughty
Her offering of a drunken walk causes commotion
The light of dawn pays homage to her radiant face

Tresses of dark hair cascading with multiple fragrances
Long nights spent dreaming of multiple pleasures
Those eyes which even the Creator can boast of
Poets feel ashamed trying to write verse in her praise

Those lips bestow on Spring the red of tulips
Off her shoulders flow the three springs of heaven
The robes on her soft body flatter with elegant grace
The tall, slender cypress prays in homage to her stature

All in all, that beauty is not in need of praise and fame
The beauty which is beyond human imagination
Passed by this pathway some time ago
Passed this way with much pride and splendour

Now this beautiful pathway has become deceitful at heart
Resident in this dust are the pleasures of wine and song
The breeze moves in a playful manner with seductive style
In the gentle atmosphere is the sound of soft voices

Now, on this path, that beauty is a scenic fixture
Available is an altar to bow in homage to Love.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

Beauty Imagined

April 10, 2020Poemsbeautiful, Beauty Imagined, beginning to end, bestow, erased, eternal, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, glance, glance eternal, innocent, luscious, poem, poetry, radiant, safety net, Satori Publishing, spirit, timeless, translation, truth, universal, Urdu to Englishsatoripublishing2013

Bestow on me
Your luscious lips, innocent brow, beautiful eyes
So that I may, once more, drown in those pleasures
With one glance take my life into your embrace

That I may be enclosed in this safety net for ever
That your radiant beauty stops my return to the dark world
That the stains of past desires are washed from my heart
That I am free from the fear of grief to come

That my past and future are erased from beginning to end
Just one glance, bestow on me that one glance eternal.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

Your Ocean Eyes

April 9, 2020Poemsconstant, dusk, eternal, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, false, flame, passion, poetry, Satori Publishing, secrets, sun drowns, timeless, translation, truth, twilight zone, union, universal, Urdu to English, Your Ocean Eyessatoripublishing2013

On the edge of sunlight, the evening sets
Both meet in the twilight zone
Neither day nor night, neither today nor tomorrow
One moment eternal, the next up in smoke

On the edge of sunlight, for a moment or two
The flame of lips
The ache of arms
This union of ours, neither true nor false

Why keep secrets, the one constant not to blame
Speak falsely for what reason?
When in your ocean eyes
This evening’s sun drowns
People indoors will sleep peacefully …
The traveller will set off on the path.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

Scene

April 8, 2020Poemsbalcony, bosom, erotic, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, lake, moon, poem, poetry, prayer, romantic, Satori Publishing, Scene, sensual, softly, timeless, translation, universal, Urdu to English, vision, winesatoripublishing2013

Along the path, shade of trees, doorway to the roof’s balcony
Above the roof, the bosom of the moon exposed, gradually
As if someone was untying her robe, slowly.
Below the balcony, shadows of a stagnant blue
A blue lake;

Quietly a bubble from some leaf ripples in the lake
Swims for a moment, floats, then bursts, softly

Very slowly, very lightly, the cool colour of wine
Poured into my glass, gently;
A glass goblet, flask, your rose-like hands
As if, far away, an image of a dream
Forms by itself, and is erased, slowly

The heart repeats the words of faith, tenderly
You said, “Softly”
Bending low, the moon said :
“Even more softly”.

(my translation of a poem by Faiz ahmed Faiz).

Prayer

April 7, 2020Poemsantidode, anxiety, declare this, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, falsehood, food for thought, higher ground, illuminate, investigate, poem, poetry, prayer, ritual, Satori Publishing, sweet antidote, timeless, translation, truth, universal, Urdu to Englishsatoripublishing2013

Come, let us also raise our hands
We who cannot recall the ritual of prayer
We who, apart from the fire of love,
Do not recall any idol, any god

Come, lay this appeal before Life, our beloved
Pour the sweet antidote of tomorrow into today’s poison
Those not strong enough to bear the weight of the times
Lighten the load, of the days and nights, on their eyelashes

Those no longer familiar with the face of dawn
Light a candle to illuminate their nights
Those whose footsteps, on any road, find no relief
Reveal to their sight the right path to travel

Those whose faith advocates falsehood and hypocrisy
May they have the courage to deny, the daring to investigate
Those who have the sword of tyranny waiting over their heads
May they gain the ability to cast off the killer’s hand

Whoever has the secret of love burning inside
Declare this today, and your burning pain will ease
The word Truth, pricks the heart like a thorn
Declare this today, and your anxiety will ease.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

May God Not Bring …

April 6, 2020Poemsbitterness, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, false promises, food for thought, grief, higher ground, Inspiration, May God Not Send ..., mourning, poetry, Satori Publishing, sorrows, spirit, timeless, translation, truth, universal, Urdu to English, visionarysatoripublishing2013

May God not bring you that time of mourning
When peaceful sleep is forbidden to you
Your happiness to date brought to an end
Your life poured into a cup of bitterness

The mirror of your grief melts the heart
Only a swarm of sorrows are eager to remain
Extreme pain the only feeling to remain
Only in a dream does your youth remain

The pride in your beauty completely humbled
The long nights when you thirst for peaceful rest
Your mind thirsts for someone to share your grief
Like a hopeful autumn thirsts for Spring

No forehead willing to bow on your threshold
To submit in devotion, make you rejoice
To trust in false promises of tomorrow

May God not bring you that time to remind you
The restless heart that longs for you even now
The expectant eye that looks for you even now.

(my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz).

Verse ( Last Night )

April 3, 2020Poemsbreeze, desert, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, food for thought, grief, heart, heartache, Last Night, love, memory, poem, poetry, regret, Satori Publishing, spring, timeless, translation, universal, Urdu to English, Verse, Verse ( Last Night ), wildernesssatoripublishing2013

Last night your lost memory stole into my heart
Like the Spring, stealthily, creeps into a wilderness
Like the dawn breeze, softly, tiptoes across a desert
Like the relief, without cause, visits one in sickness.

( my translation of a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz ).

Silence

April 1, 2020Poemsbutcher knife, children, curse, emotions, expressed, facing facts, family, food for thought, lifestyle, memory, original, personal, poem, poetry, regret, repressed, Satori Publishing, Silence, spirit, the basics, thoughts, timeless, truth, universalsatoripublishing2013

Silence has been the biggest curse of my life
Thoughts not given voice, constantly repressed
Emotions never shown, or simply expressed
Silence cuts deeper than any butcher knife.