A bird came flying

And, sitting on my shoulder, whispered:

My friend,

The cedar tree

I flew to unconcerned,

Past the silent towers—

And the sighing, sobbing chimneys of the moaning factories;

I couldn’t find any friend;

I don’t feel at home anywhere—

Cities, jungles, and ruins—all strangers.

Let me descend into the world of your heart;

The autumnal branch of sorrow there

Has been my nest since the beginning of time—

.

I am a lonely, harmless bird; let me live with you;

Let me suffer whatever you suffer.

.

From: Shab gasht (Evening Patrol). Allāhābād: Shabk̲h̲ūn Kitāb G̲h̲ar, 1969. pp. 51 – 52