Poet

Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Pen Name

Faiz

Translation in Rhyme

Entwined with you are that beauty’s memory
Which turned this heart into a realm of glee
In affection of whom, this world ceased to be
Time itself was stopped, set free

Familiar to your steps are paths that remain
Her enchanting beauty therein once reigned
Caravans of grace, on those roads they invite
Our eyes, once adoring, now hold memories tight

Through the blowing winds, you have known her grace
A lingering fragrance of her, in tender embrace
You’ve also gazed the moon’s radiant lights,
Through that doorway, memories of past nights 

Those cherished features, in our gaze they reside,
In their memory, our lifetimes are tied
Dreamy eyes that have met ours in kind,
The reason we waited, a love undefined

In love’s cruel favors, we’re partners, it’s true,
Countless favors, too many to view
What have we lost, what have we gained, my friend,
To explain to another, they won’t comprehend

Translation in Prose

Come, for entwined with you are the memories of that beauty
Who had turned this heart into a fairy house
In whose affection, we had forgotten the world
We had turned time into a tale of times

Acquainted with you are the pathways
That were once bestowed her enchanting beauty
Caravans of grace have traversed the roads
That these eyes have worshiped without benefit

Those beloved winds have played with you
In which the sad fragrant of her dress remains
You have also experienced radiance of the moon through that doorway
Wherein lingers the memory of the nights spent

You have seen that forehead, those cheeks, the lips
In memory of whom we lost a lifetime
Those dreamy eyes have looked upon you too
You know why we spent an era waiting

We are equal partners in favors of love’s misery
So many favors that I can’t count, even if I try
What have we lost in love, what have we gained
If I try to explain to anyone except you, I can’t

Transliteration

aa ke vābasta haiṇ us husn kī yādeṇ tujh se
jis ne is dil ko parī-khānā banā rakkhā thā
jis kī ulfat meṇ bhulā rakkhī thī duniyā ham ne
dehr ko dehr kā afsānā banā rakkhā thā

āshnā haiṇ tere qadmoṇ se vo rāheṇ jin par
us kī maḍhosh javānī ne ināyat kī hai
kārvāṇ guzre haiṇ jin se usī rānāī ke
jis kī in ākhon ne be-sūd ibādat kī hai

tujh se khelī haiṇ vo mahbūb havāeṇ jin meṇ
us ke malbūs kī afsurdā mehek bāqī hai
tujh pe bhī barsā hai us bām se mahtāb kā nūr
jis meṇ bītī huī rātoṇ kī kasak bāqī hai

tū ne dekhī hai vo peshānī vo rukhsār vo hoṇt
zindagī jin ke tasavvur meiṇ lutā dī ham ne
tujh pe utthī haiṇ vo khoī huī sāhir āṇkheṇ
tujh ko mālūm hai kyūṇ umr gaṇvā dī ham ne

ham pe mushtarkā haiṇ ehsān gham-e-ulfat ke
itne ehsān ki ginvāūṇ to ginvā na sakūṇ
ham ne is ishq meṇ kyā khoyā hai kyā sīkhā hai
juz tere aur ko samjhāūṇ to samjhā na sakūṇ