The Incarceration Of Loneliness

On the far horizon waved some flicker of

My heart, a city of suffering, awoke in a state of

My eyes, turning restless, still dreaming,the morning, dawning in this vacuous abode of

In the wine-cup of my heart,

I poured my morning

Mixing in the bitterness of the past, the poison of the

On the far horizon waved some flicker of lightfar from the eye, a precursor to some

Some song, some scent, some unbelievably pretty facewent by unknowingly, carrying a distressful

Mixing in the bitterness of the past, the poison of the presentI proposed a toast to the longings on this day of

To the fellow drinkers of my homeland and

To the beauty of the worlds, the grace of beloved's lip and cheek(Prison of Lahore Fort, 1959.

Taken from the collection:

The hand under the stone)Translation by Hamid Rahim Sheikh