Mirza Ghalib
daaim pada hua tire dar par nahin huun main
khaak aisi zindagi pe ki patthar nahin huun main
I do not lie embedded, ensconced upon your door
I am not merely a stone, such life I do abhor
kyuun gardish-e-mudam se ghabra na jaae dil
insan huun piyala o saghar nahin huun main
why shouldn’t life’s revolutions agitate my heart?
I’m human, not a chalice to be passed around the floor.
ya-rab zamana mujh ko mitata hai kis liye
lauh-e-jahan pe harf-e-mukarrar nahin huun main
Lord what reason that this world seeks to erase me so
I’m not a superfluous word that’s been written before
had chahiye saza men uqubat ke vaste
akhir gunahgar huun kafar nahin huun main
Viciousness, in punishment, needs to be restrained
after all it’s sin, not heresy I answer for
kis vaste aziiz nahin jante mujhe
laal o zamurrad o zar o gauhar nahin huun main
Neither rubies, gems, nor gold nor pearls, I am therefore
is it for this reason that you choose to thus ignore
rakhte ho tum qadam miri ankhon se kyuun daregh
rutbe men mahr-o-mah se kam-tar nahin huun main
why do you have to keep your feet hidden from my eyes?
less in stature than the sun and moon I am not for sure
karte ho mujh ko mana-e-qadam-bos kis liye
kya asman ke bhi barabar nahin huun main
what reason that you now refuse to let me kiss your feet
am I not equal even to the heavens anymore
‘ghalib’ vazifa-khvar ho do shaah ko dua
vo din gae ki kahte the naukar nahin huun main
Ghalib you should praise the king, dependent that you are
You used to say “I do not serve”, those were the days of yore
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