Faiz Ahmad Faiz
sabza sabza suukh rahi hai phiki zard dopahar
divaron ko chaat raha hai tanhai ka zahr
duur ufuq tak ghatti badhti uthti rahti hai
kohr ki surat be-raunaq dardon ki gadli lahr
basta hai is kohr ke pichhe raushniyon ka shahr
City of Lights
ai raushniyon ke shahr
On each patch of green, from one shade to the next,
the noon is erasing itself by wiping out all color,
becoming pale, desolation everywhere,
the poison of exile painted on the walls.
In the distance,
there are terrible sorrows, like tides:
they draw back, swell, become full, subside.
they’ve turned the horizon to mist.
And behind that mist is the city of lights,
my city of many lights.
kaun kahe kis samt hai teri raushniyon ki raah
har janib be-nur khadi hai hijr ki shahr-panah
thak kar har su baith rahi hai shauq ki maand sipah
How will I return to you, my city,
where is the road to your lights? My hopes
are in retreat, exhausted by these unlit, broken walls,
and my heart, their leader, is in terrible doubt.
aaj mira dil fikr men hai
ai raushniyon ke shahr
shab-khun se munh pher na jaae armanon ki rau
khair ho teri lailaon ki un sab se kah do
aaj ki shab jab diye jalaen unchi rakkhen lau
But let all be well, my city, if under
cover of darkness, in a final attack,
my heart leads its reserves of longings
and storms you tonight. Just tell all your lovers
to turn the wicks of their lamps high
so that I may find you, Oh city,
my city of many lights.
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