This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Mujhe un jazīron̲ men̲ le jā’o / Take Me to Those Islands
Take me to those islands
Wreathed by bright,
Glass-like water
Where girls hide
The dangerous places
Of their bodies
With palm leaves
And wear garlands
Smile coquettishly
Where children
Build sand castles
On glittering beach sand
People sunbathe
And dive into water
To catch oyster shells—
Fish and cockleshells
At night
Sing and dance
Sleep peacefully
In the moonlight
In small straw huts.
Take me
To those islands
Bound by bright
Glass-like water.
Perhaps then I’ll live
A few days longer
For in the cities, I choke.
.
From: Āk̲h̲irī din kī talāsh (Search for the Last Day). Allāhābād: Shabk̲h̲ūn Kitāb G̲h̲ar, 1968. pp. 20 – 21
Take me to those islands
Wreathed by bright,
Glass-like water
Where girls hide
The dangerous places
Of their bodies
With palm leaves
And wear garlands
Smile coquettishly
Where children
Build sand castles
On glittering beach sand
People sunbathe
And dive into water
To catch oyster shells—
Fish and cockleshells
At night
Sing and dance
Sleep peacefully
In the moonlight
In small straw huts.
Take me
To those islands
Bound by bright
Glass-like water.
Perhaps then I’ll live
A few days longer
For in the cities, I choke.
.
From: Āk̲h̲irī din kī talāsh (Search for the Last Day). Allāhābād: Shabk̲h̲ūn Kitāb G̲h̲ar, 1968. pp. 20 – 21
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