This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Raqṣ / Dance
He has come, bringing with him the message of beauty, colour, and music;
He has come bringing him with him Cupid’s bow, the wine goblet.
.
Those youths
Heated in the light fire of moonlight
Made by the froth of the sea,
Walking tougher and talking on the green garden path,
Walking, exuding scent from your body!
Walk swaying your waist!
Walk, with staggering feet.
.
He has come, bringing with him the message of beauty, colour, and music;
He has come bringing with him Cupid’s bow, the wine goblet.
.
O God, may his dance-carpet be wider.
May the sound of the pickaxe be victorious, the stonecutter triumphant.
.
1958
.
From: Yāden̲ (Remembrances), 1963. pp. 145 – 46
He has come, bringing with him the message of beauty, colour, and music;
He has come bringing him with him Cupid’s bow, the wine goblet.
.
Those youths
Heated in the light fire of moonlight
Made by the froth of the sea,
Walking tougher and talking on the green garden path,
Walking, exuding scent from your body!
Walk swaying your waist!
Walk, with staggering feet.
.
He has come, bringing with him the message of beauty, colour, and music;
He has come bringing with him Cupid’s bow, the wine goblet.
.
O God, may his dance-carpet be wider.
May the sound of the pickaxe be victorious, the stonecutter triumphant.
.
1958
.
From: Yāden̲ (Remembrances), 1963. pp. 145 – 46
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