This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Ae roshniyon̲ ke shahr / O City of Lights
All over the grass, the dull, pale noon is drying up;
The poison of loneliness is licking the walls;
The muddied wave of pain—like an ungrateful mist—falls and swells.
Behold this mist, the city of light;
O city of lights!
O city of lights!
Who can say in which direction goes the road of your light;
The city ramparts of separation stand, unlighted on every side;
The weary troops of longing are sitting everywhere, tired;
Today my heart is worried,
O city of light.
The current of desire may not retreat because of the night raid;
May fortune befriend your Lailas; tell them all that
When they burn their lamps, they should keep the flames high.
.
Lahore Jail, Montgomery Jail ∙ 28 March-15 April 1954
.
From:Zindān̲ nāmah (Prison Narrative). Dihlī: Kabīr Buk Ḍipo. 1955. pp. 108 – 10
Ae roshniyon̲ ke shahr is quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970
All over the grass, the dull, pale noon is drying up;
The poison of loneliness is licking the walls;
The muddied wave of pain—like an ungrateful mist—falls and swells.
Behold this mist, the city of light;
O city of lights!
O city of lights!
Who can say in which direction goes the road of your light;
The city ramparts of separation stand, unlighted on every side;
The weary troops of longing are sitting everywhere, tired;
Today my heart is worried,
O city of light.
The current of desire may not retreat because of the night raid;
May fortune befriend your Lailas; tell them all that
When they burn their lamps, they should keep the flames high.
.
Lahore Jail, Montgomery Jail ∙ 28 March-15 April 1954
.
From:Zindān̲ nāmah (Prison Narrative). Dihlī: Kabīr Buk Ḍipo. 1955. pp. 108 – 10
Ae roshniyon̲ ke shahr is quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970
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