This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Kaʼī bār / Several times
Several times I have filled my heart with the beauty of two worlds,
But my heart’s desolation does not disappear.
.
Several times, for my eye’s sake, I sliced the heart of every atom;
But this is a wonderstruck eye whose amazement never ends.
.
The precious value of the wealth of ruby and pearl do not end;
The cheapness of the goods of honour and faith do not end.
.
Since my lazy eyes have gotten sight,
Very well-known faces have not even been recognised.
.
The cap of arrogance is robbed from the king’s head;
But the smell of sovereignty does not fade from the cap of kingship.
.
Except for madness, tell me what other excuse is there here
Where not even an iota of rational thought is accepted.
.
From: Naqsh-i faryādī (Image of the Supplicant). Dihlī: Urdū Ghar, 1941. pp. 89 – 90
Several times I have filled my heart with the beauty of two worlds,
But my heart’s desolation does not disappear.
.
Several times, for my eye’s sake, I sliced the heart of every atom;
But this is a wonderstruck eye whose amazement never ends.
.
The precious value of the wealth of ruby and pearl do not end;
The cheapness of the goods of honour and faith do not end.
.
Since my lazy eyes have gotten sight,
Very well-known faces have not even been recognised.
.
The cap of arrogance is robbed from the king’s head;
But the smell of sovereignty does not fade from the cap of kingship.
.
Except for madness, tell me what other excuse is there here
Where not even an iota of rational thought is accepted.
.
From: Naqsh-i faryādī (Image of the Supplicant). Dihlī: Urdū Ghar, 1941. pp. 89 – 90
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