This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Zindagī, ek pīrazan! / Life, An Old Hag!
—Life, an old hag!
Gathers rags by day and night in street and alley!
Life, that old lady, senile, with a sad frenzied laugh
Life, that old hag!
.
—Disheveled hair, stained teeth, her dress
A jungle of winding fading rags,
Life, that old hag.
A gust of wind blows
Bundles of rags from her hands?
.
—She burns with anger, she raves the more,
For who can bear such loss!
Tired, defeated by the winds, she bends over,
Over her feet as if treasure were buried beneath
Life, what good is it to peep into the well of your past?
It’s dry, filled with stench, what can you draw from it?
—Nothing in the bottom but pebbles,
Nothing but an echo!
.
With M. H. K. Qureshi
.
From: Lā = insān. (X = Man). Lāhaur: Munīr Niyāzī, 1969. pp. 80 – 81
—Life, an old hag!
Gathers rags by day and night in street and alley!
Life, that old lady, senile, with a sad frenzied laugh
Life, that old hag!
.
—Disheveled hair, stained teeth, her dress
A jungle of winding fading rags,
Life, that old hag.
A gust of wind blows
Bundles of rags from her hands?
.
—She burns with anger, she raves the more,
For who can bear such loss!
Tired, defeated by the winds, she bends over,
Over her feet as if treasure were buried beneath
Life, what good is it to peep into the well of your past?
It’s dry, filled with stench, what can you draw from it?
—Nothing in the bottom but pebbles,
Nothing but an echo!
.
With M. H. K. Qureshi
.
From: Lā = insān. (X = Man). Lāhaur: Munīr Niyāzī, 1969. pp. 80 – 81
Leave A Comment