Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Let Us Suppose

Adaab! My friend, Aftab, is being very patient with me as I struggle to learn a few urdu phrases. In this process, I have discovered that there are many wonderful urdu poets that I have never known...begging me to discover them. Lucky for me, I did find a site that has translated some of the poetry for me. Below is just one example:


Let Us Suppose
by Amjad Islam Amjad
translated byTariq Masoud Qasmi
Suppose we were
Two lonely stars,
Twinkling at distance,
Glancing at each other,
Now and then.
And then one day,
Would break and fall,
In the Abyss of oblivion.
What if we were
Two separate currents
Of the same river,
Rushing towards the
Merciless hands of ocean.
Under separate magic
Spell of blind, over savage
and intolerable land,
Together, yet far apart.
What if we were
Birds of early morning,
Flying together,
Touching each other
For a brief moment
And vanish beyond
The far Horizon.
And what if we were
Gusts of spring breeze,
Melting into vague dreams
Of seasons, and turn away
To separate directions,
Carve green lines deep
In the palm of dry and barren
Land, plant our dreams unseen.
Shed our tears in solitude,
And fall into eternal sleep.
Suppose we were not,
What we really are today.

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