yaad
by Faiz Ahmed Faizyaad
dasht-e-tanhā.ī meñ ai jaan-e-jahāñ larzāñ haiñ
terī āvāz ke saa.e tire hoñToñ ke sarāb
dasht-e-tanhā.ī meñ duurī ke khas o khaak tale
khil rahe haiñ tire pahlū ke saman aur gulāb
uTh rahī hai kahīñ qurbat se tirī saañs k aañch
apnī khushbū meñ sulagtī huī maddham maddham
duur ufuq paar chamaktī huī qatra qatra
gir rahī hai tirī dildār nazar kī shabnam
is qadar pyaar se ai jaan-e-jahāñ rakkhā hai
dil ke rukhsār pe is vaqt tirī yaad ne haat
yuuñ gumāñ hotā hai garche hai abhī sub.h-e-firāq
Dhal gayā hijr kā din aa bhiī ga.ī vasl kī raat
Note: The original text appears in transliterated Roman Urdu due to incompatibilities between the original script and our publishing software. Many thanks to the translator for providing the transliteration.
Memory
by Faiz Ahmed FaizIn the desert of solitude, my love, are tremors
the shadows of your voice, mirages of your lips
In the desert of solitude, beneath the ash
and dust of distance, blossom the jasmines and roses
of your touch
A flame of your breath rises somewhere nearby,
smoldering softly in its own perfume
far beyond the horizon your heartening eyes
drop shimmering dew
How lovingly, my love, your memory visits me,
lays her hand on my heart:
I surmise—though, this is the dawn of parting
—that the day of migration has waned
and the night of our union, crested
translated from Urdu by Umair Kazi