Baad-e-naseem ki aashnai me
Naseeb ki hawa narm nhi chalti.
Kul jama zindagi ka ye nikla–
Umeed lagane se duniya nhi milti.
…
Wo tajir h jo chahta h mohabbat ka sila,
Ulfat k bazar me arzoo nhi chalti.
Mangane pe karde jo ishq me dakhil,
Mehboob k dil me wo qitab nhi milti.
Umeed lagane se duniya nhi milti.
…
Chand ki khwahish rakhne walo me
Sitaro ki auqat b nhi milti.
Jinke muntazir ho guzari thi umr humne,
Unke ishq me wo raahat ab nhi milti.
Umeed lagane se duniya nhi milti.
Love for zypher of the west,
Didn’t keep away the tempest.
The sum of my life came to be,
Hope didn’t win the world for me.
…
Love-for-love only traders aspire.
Alas! In the market of desire
Longing isn’t a currency.
You wouldn’t find the register
in one’s heart to enter
Your soul’s muted pleas.
…
Hope didn’t win the world for me.
…
Who ask for the moon in the night
Oft don’t deserve the starlight,
Quit at onset of the journey.
A life wasted pining a-quiet
For love that doesn’t give respite
As once happened to be.
…
Hope didn’t win the world for me.
Author’s note: Urdu Nazm has several Quartets (4 liners) stitched together to convey the same idea. While translating, I have converted it into a combination of a Quartet and a couple of Sestets (6 liners) with rhyme, which is a first for me since, in English, I usually write in free verse. I couldn’t match the scale without changing meaning though. 🙂
Short Stories | Fish-eye Perspective 
Despite the translation, I still felt all the emotion.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thank you, Pete!
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I enjoyed it even if you couldn’t keep it in it’s original form, Shaily
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Thanks Don! Glad to know the translation worked even though the scale and rhyme was different to save the meaning.
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