There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie--
Perfect passion and worship fed
......
Bards of Passion and of Mirth,
Ye have left your souls on earth!
Have ye souls in heaven too,
Double lived in regions new?
Yes, and those of heaven commune
With the spheres of sun and moon;
With the noise of fountains wound'rous,
And the parle of voices thund'rous;
With the whisper of heaven's trees
And one another, in soft ease.
......
ONE'S-SELF I sing--a simple, separate Person;
Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-masse.
Of Physiology from top to toe I sing;
Not physiognomy alone, nor brain alone, is worthy for the muse--I say
the Form complete is worthier far;
The Female equally with the male I sing.
Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power,
Cheerful--for freest action form'd, under the laws divine,
......
SMILINDA and CARDELIA.CARDELIA.
THE bassette-table spread, the tallier come,
Why stays SMILINDA in the dressing-room ?
Rise, pensive nymph ! the tallier stays for you.
SMILINDA.
Ah ! Madam, since my SHARPER is untrue,
I joyless make my once ador'd alpieu.
I saw him stand behind OMBRELIA's Chair,
And whisper with that soft deluding air,
......
A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women's fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue, all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created,
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
......
Stealthy and assured the jaguar lies in wait
With hungry eyes, it patiently sits and salivates
Hungering and waiting...
Calculating and preying
For that golden moment of truth
Heavy breaths speak of a desirous sooth
Breathing and scheming...
......
True life considers more than the vessel it resides in.
Sincere music’s insights are unlimited to the ears.
Authentic art faults never to its boundless perspectives.
Intuitive photography narrates beyond its frames.
Empathetic poetry humbles every language comprehensible.
True media is commissioned by the intangible.
Thursday 6 June 2024
......
Passion
I picked my soul that had sagged to the floor,
Cold and tired she lay at my feet, sunken.
Like an oversized underwear
She had fallen from underneath my body,
So I picked her up and clipped her to the hem of my heart,
Willing for her to stay a bit longer
“You must stay”
I said. disgruntle, dissatisfied.
......
In shadows of intelligence, a young man stood,
His mind ablaze, his spirit pure and good.
A brilliant flame, a flicker of creativity,
But society's pressure whispered for conformity.
With dreams of literature and arts so fine,
He yearned to let his creativity truly shine.
But the world, in its wisdom, had other plans,
Forcing the young man into law's demanding hands.
......
These are English translations of Urdu poems by Ahmad Faraz.
The Eager Traveler
by Ahmad Faraz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
Even in the torture chamber, I was the lucky one;
When each lottery was over, unaccountably I had won.
And even the mightiest rivers found accessible refuge in me;
......