Mirza Ghalib

27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869 / Agra / British India

No Hope Comes My Way

No hope comes my way
No visage shows itself to me

That death will come one day is definite
Then why does sleep evade me all night?

I used to laugh at the state of my heart
Now no one thing brings a smile

Though I know the reward of religious devotion
My attention does not settle in that direction

It is for these reasons that I am quiet
If not, would I not converse with you?

Why should I not remember you?
Even if you cannot hear my lament

You don't see the anguish in my heart
O healer, the scent of my pain eludes you

I am now at that point
That even I don't know myself

I die in the hope of dying
Death arrives and then never arrives

How will you face Mecca, Ghalib
When shame doesn't come to you
278 Total read