This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Manẓar / Scene
Streets, shadows, trees, houses, the edge of the roof
Whereon the breasts of the moon opened softly
As if someone quietly unfastened her dress;
Beneath the roofs, stagnant indigo shadows,
A lake of indigo
Where a leaf—bubble-like—floated slowly
For a moment, turned, then burst softly;
Quietly-lightly, the cold colour of wine
Poured down into my glass slowly,
Wine glass, goblet, flask, the roses of your hands
As if an impression of some dream
Took form in the distance, then vanished softly.
.
For the heart, a word of love, slowly,
You said: “Softly.”
Bending over, the moon whispered:
“Slowly-slower still.”
.
Moscow ∙ 1964
.
From: Dast-i tah-yi sang (Hand Beneath the Stone). Dihlī: ʻAlīgaṛh: Ejūkeshanal Buk Hāʼūs, 1979. pp. 75 – 76
Manẓaris quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970
Streets, shadows, trees, houses, the edge of the roof
Whereon the breasts of the moon opened softly
As if someone quietly unfastened her dress;
Beneath the roofs, stagnant indigo shadows,
A lake of indigo
Where a leaf—bubble-like—floated slowly
For a moment, turned, then burst softly;
Quietly-lightly, the cold colour of wine
Poured down into my glass slowly,
Wine glass, goblet, flask, the roses of your hands
As if an impression of some dream
Took form in the distance, then vanished softly.
.
For the heart, a word of love, slowly,
You said: “Softly.”
Bending over, the moon whispered:
“Slowly-slower still.”
.
Moscow ∙ 1964
.
From: Dast-i tah-yi sang (Hand Beneath the Stone). Dihlī: ʻAlīgaṛh: Ejūkeshanal Buk Hāʼūs, 1979. pp. 75 – 76
Manẓaris quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970
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