manzar

by Faiz Ahmed Faiz

manzar

 

āsmāñ aaj ik bahr-e-pur-shor hai

jis meñ har-sū ravāñ bādaloñ ke jahāz

un ke arshe per kirnoñ ke mastūl haiñ

bādbānoñ kī pahne hue farġhaleñ

niil meñ gumbadoñ ke jazīre ka.ī

ek baazī meñ masrūf hai har koīī

vo abābīl koī nahātī huī

koī chiil ġhote meñ jaatī huī

koī tāqat nahīñ is meñ zor-aazmā

koī beDā nahīñ hai kisī mulk kā

is kī tah meñ koīābdozeñ nahīñ

koī rocket nahīñ koī topeñ nahīñ

yuuñ to saare anāsir haiñ yaañ zor meñ

amn kitnā hai is bahr-e-pur-shor meñ

 

 

Scene

by Faiz Ahmed Faiz

The sky today is a sea-lane

busy with the ships of passing

 

clouds

 

whose decks are masted

with sunbeams draped in

diaphanous sails

 

The city’s domes are the islands

of this sea

 

where everyone is busy

risking it all:

 

see that blackbird swimming,

that eagle

    diving in…

 

There is no contest of power

here: no battleship fleets or flags;

 

no submarines creeping on the

seabed; no rockets or cannons

 

And, though, every element

here is bursting with charge—

 

just look how peaceful

these bustling waters are

 

Samarkand, 1978

translated from Urdu by Umair Kazi
more>>