Category: Poetry

Posted in Fiction, Poetry

I’ll be along | Poetry

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Been too lost to speak;

Been too lost to quiet;

Been too long I could think of what to say besides.

…

Feels like forever;

When you were by my side,

Been too long ever since I felt the pain subside.

…

Wait for me, won’t you?

I will be along

Wait for me, won’t you?

You won’t be alone…

…

Been too far away

On the other side of the sun.

Too long since I touched the fresh earth

and didn’t feel the burn.

…

Lost in space forever,

I didn’t see until you were gone;

Now there’s nothing but to wonder

When I’ll be along…

…

Wait for me

there, my love;

I’ll be along…

Wait for me

won’t you?

I will be along…

_________________________________________________

Author’s note: Not sure where this one came up from. I am not a song writer, but I was singing it as I wrote it. I could hear my brother’s guitar in my mind, strumming a quick beat as I sang it. And for some reason, it feels like a piece of my heart.

Posted in Poetry

Begone | Poetry

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

The ever-present frigidness is now fiery warm;

The spring had come suddenly

and now, I wish it gone;

For there is no softness, no gentleness as such;

Only the passionate sun

that burns all he touch;

And makes you wish for icy winds and torrential storm.

Love is just barely here,

and now, I wish it gone.

Posted in Poetry

Darkness | Urdu poetry

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Andhera tere dar pe nahi mere dil me tha;

Me dastak se darta raha; tu intezar karta raha.

Translation:

Standing in the darkness outside your door;

Willing it to open; fearing it would;

Craving the light escaping from the sides,

Steeling to face it; fearing I would;

Hoping to accept me; fearing I’m ruined;

Knowing you stand right beside the door,

Just waiting for me

to knock…

Posted in Poetry

Shukran Allah | Urdu | Poetry

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

Tere ishq ki deewanagi

tari ho kuchh is tarah,

Wo deewaro me chunwa dein

aur hum kahein, “Shukran Allah!”

English Translation:

Lost in your love so,

When the world immures me

in the walls to kill me,

I wouldn’t know…

Posted in Poetry

Umeed | Urdu | Nazm

Posted on by Shaily Agrawal

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. :)