I had a dream in my childhood: We should at least be in someone’s heart;

One day we should also be in the gathering of the world’s foray;

The heart should be a prisoner in perfumed tresses; 

We too should be entangled in those beautiful chains; 

We should also play among the playful bulbul birds in the garden 

Where Saadi played his musical instrument;

Putting our head on the shoulder of the Pleiades, we should also sing;

We should also play with the stars; we should also be in the full moon.

Being free at times from the struggle of knowledge,

We should also wander madly in mountains and jungles;

We should also be among those who’ve lost their heart to the flame of the camel litter;

The heart may be in pursuit of the princess of the goal;

We should also be lost in searching for the path to the destination;

Let there be a desert, a thorny place, a valley, a fire;

One day we too should pass through these frightening parts of the journey;

Ripping open waves of the tumult-stirring river, 

We should also be on the shore bank together with the boat. 

Let there be a huge army fighting; 

We too should be in the forefront of that battle; 

Let a brilliant sword shine in your hand;

We too should be in the thick of the foray at the hour of battle; 

We should be among those few martyrs at whose feet 

Lies the crown of the kingdom of the universe.

          1937

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From: Āhang (Melody; 1938). Dihlī: Āzād Kitāb Ghar. 1956. pp.77 – 78