Sonnet

I ride on wings of memories, I'm drenched in thy sunshine,

Ah! The vernal, winsome breeze, I travel space and time,

Sweet saccharine of banter, and subdued heartbeats of mine,

Cacophony of laughter, long silences that would chime,

How days would turn into nights, and nights into our days,

We frolicked through the spring, and sought our shelter in the heat,

And in the mist, oh! How thy eyes would sparkle through the haze,

To cosier confines of my mind, I slowly retreat,

I gingerly dream of us, lest my dreaming in its wake,

Opens my wounds of yore that I would once so fondly nurse,

In every sigh of thine, in every breath that thou wouldst take,

How I would string my passionate rhymes, my capricious verse,

And fresh as dew, resplendent as the Sun, our final tryst,

Where soul and soul were one, where thou and I so almost kissed!

Faiz in Translation: Nazm 'Yaad' by Faiz Ahmad Faiz Sahab

Yet another attempt at translating Faiz, and this one at a friend's request! One of my favourite nazms, beautifully rendered by Iqbal Bano in her inimitable voice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev8ucJuj3DM)

As always, a disclaimer is due! I've taken my liberties, but I've tried to retain the rhyming scheme and the meter (It's awful difficult in English!). I hope it helps!

Urdu Transliteration:

Yaad (Ik nazm)

Dasht e tanhaai meiN, ai jaan e jahaaN, larzaaN hai,

Teri aawaaz ke saaye, tere hontoN ke saraab,

Dasht e tanhaai meiN, doori ke khas o khaak tale,

Khil rahe haiN tere pehlu meiN saman aur gulaab,

Uth rahi hai kahiN qurbat se teri saans ki aanch,

Apni khushboo meiN sulagti hui, madham, madham,

Door ufuq paar chamakti hui, qatra, qatra,

Gir rahi hai teri dildaar nazar ki shabnam,

Is qadar pyaar se, ai jaan e jahaaN! Rakkha hai,

Dil ke rukhsaar pe is waqt teri yaad ne haath,

YooN gumaaN hota hai garche hai abhi subh e firaaq,

Dhal gaya hijr ka din, aa bhi gayi wasl ki raat..........

English Translation

Memories (Wilderness of Solitude)

In the wilderness of my solitude, quiver and tremble,

A haunting ghost of thy voice, and a mirage of thy lips,

In the wilderness of my solitude, the distance between,

Now parched grasses, at your touch, bloom jasmines and tulips,

The air, enwraps you, and now glows in thy warm, perfumed breath,

Slowly burns in the heady fragrance, gently, gently,

In the far, far horizon, glistens pearly drop by drop,

The dew that falls under thy loving gaze, tenderly,

And full of care, my love! Thy effervescent memory,

Reassuring, a tender hand, on the cold cheek of my heart,

And though, the day of our separation dawns, it feels,

The sun has set, the night is nigh, and we'll never part........

A Translation: Nisaar Mein Teri Galiyon Ke..... By Faiz Ahmed Faiz Sahab

Another one of Faiz Sahab's nazms that kills me each time I read it! This was written during tumultuous times in his country (From Dast-e-Saba). I've tried to maintain the rhyming scheme and hence I've taken a lot of liberties with the translation. It's a poetic translation, that is, the idioms and phrases have not been literally translated, and I've tried to use phrases in English that is closest to the ones in Urdu (Disclaimer: That's merely my humble opinion!). I know that translations can never do justice to the original, but even if in parts it makes enough sense, that would be a thumbs up for me!

Original Urdu (English Transliteration):

Nisaar mein teri galiyon ke ai watan ke jahan,
Chali hai rasm ke koi na sar utha ke chale,
Jo koi chahne waala tawaaf ko nikle,
Nazar chura ke chale, jism-o-jaan bacha ke chale,
Hai ahl-e-dil ke liye ab ye nazm-e-bast-o-kushaad,
Ke sang-o-khisht muqayyad hain aur sag aazaad,

Bahut hai zulm ke dast-e-bahaana-joo ke liye,
Jo chand ahl-e-junoon tere naam lewa hain,
Bane hain ahl-e-hawas mudd'ai bhi, munsif bhi,
Kise wakeel karein, kisse munsifi chahein,
Magar guzaarne waalon ke din guzarte hain,
Tere firaaq mein yoon subh-o-shaam karte hain,

Bujha jo rozan-e-zindaan to dil ye samjha hai,
Ke teri maang sitaaron se bhar gayi hogi,
Chamak uthe hain salaasil to hum ne jaana hai,
Ke ab seher tere rukh par bikhar gayi hogi,
Gharaz tasavvur-e-shaam-o-seher mein jeete hain,
Giraft-e-saaya-e-deewaar-o-dar mein jeete hain,

Yoon hi hamesha ulajhti rahi hai zulm se khalq,
Na unki rasm nayi hai, na apni reet nayi,
Yoon hi hamesha khilaaye hain hum ne aag mein phool,
Na unki haar nayi hai, na apni jeet nayi,
Isi sabab se falak ka gila nahi karte,
Tere firaaq mein hum dil bura nahi karte,

Gar aaj tujh se juda hain to kal behem honge,
Ye raat bhar ki judaai to koi baat nahi,
Gar aaj auj pe hai taala'-e-raqeeb to kya,
Ye chaar din ki khudai to koi baat nahi,
Jo tujh se ehd-e-wafa ustuwaar rakhte hain,
Ilaaj-e-gardish-e-lail-o-nihaar rakhte hain!

English Translation:

To thy streets O Nation! I pledge my life,
Where the lawless vagabonds abound,
And the romantics who wander deeply in love,
In constant fear don't utter a sound,
Such is the order for hearts, the sanctuary,
As the stones are captive, the dogs run free,

Many are the reasons the oppressors deem,
As they passionately evoke thy name,
As they greedily plead and render justice,
Who shall be our judge, who the case shall frame,
But the days shall crawl for those who persist,
Divorced from thee the souls of ones who exist,

As darkness engulfs my gaol I know,
The glitter of stars would shower thy tresses,
And with a glint on my fetters I feel,
Thy gentle face the dawn caresses,
And in assumed days and nights we live,
Under the shadows of these walls we live,

And as always under oppression we reel,
Neither their customs nor our traditions are new,
And as always in scorching heat we've bloomed,
Neither their defeat nor our triumph are new,
Precisely why the sky we don't blame,
Or mourn endlessly this drought, thy name,

Today you're faraway but tomorrow would be ours,
Of no significance this lonely night,
If the lucky ones today are the oppressors, love!
Our dawn is not too far in sight,
Those who only in your thoughts dwell,
Hold the key to endure death's knell!

Joy

She blew at me those bubbles of joy,
Evanescent and effervescent,
Like a heady autumn breeze,
That blew for me, her choicest scent,

That ruffled the pages, an open book,
Long forgotten, long unattended,
Scraps of a tatterdemalion's life,
A corner, a robe, a heart that bled,

I dwelt for a moment outside me,
Oh what web my mistress spun!
I left my tales of woe and pain,
And the tragic rhyme that I'd begun,

And in a moment, quick as they came,
They fizzled, broke and left me drenched,
Melancholic, as the poet in me,
His strangest, arcane thirst, now quenched!

Faiz Sahab's 'Ye Jafa e Gham Ka Chaara....' : A Translation

The Original (English Transliteration)

Ye jafa e gham ka chaara, wo nijaat e dil ka aalam,
Tera husn dast e eesa, teri yaad roo e maryam,

Dil o jaan fida e raahe, kabhi aake dekh humdum!
Sar e koo e dil figaaran, shab e aarzoo ka aalam,

Teri deed se siwa hai, tere shauq mein bahaaraan,
Wo chaman jahaan giri hai, tere gesuon ki shabnam,

Ye ajab qayamatein hain, tere rahguzar mein guzraan,
Na hua ke mar mitein hum, na hua ke jee uthein hum,

Lo suni gayi humaari, ke phirein hain din ke phir se,
Wohi gosha e qafas hai, wohi fasl e gul ka maatam.

English Translation

The solace of sorrows clutches, of heart's respite, this time, 
Healing hands of Christ thy form, the Virgin's face, thy thoughts, sublime!

Hearts and souls, the dust of, these lanes, my love, behold! How, 
Us broken-hearted, we hum, joyous and gay, desire's rhyme!

Even bereft of you, love! Verdant the heart in passion, 
Drenched by the dew that dripped from, thy curls, another time!

In your streets, beloved! What has become of me now!
Neither was I in full bloom, nor the funeral bells did chime!

Alas! Moves on, the day now, my cries unanswered still, sigh! 
Still same the cage, the corner, still same the captive rhyme! 

Poet Lament

Oh! How and when, did my workhorse pen,
A slumber did it sleep?
I came across a score, a dozen,
Verses, in a heap,
Of heartfelt notes, riddles and rhymes,
And clever limericks,
Sonnets, odes, most often times,
My cheapest, quickest fix!
Remember not I, what was that,
Which led me so astray,
Listless and distraught I sat,
Mourning every single day,
The ink had dried, the words did starve,
The verses now un-penned,
The song had died, and now I carve,
The stony silence, mend,
What remained of a heart bereft,
Of rhyme and reason, pray!
Bits and pieces, what was left,
And all I had to say,
I closed my eyes, my faithful pen,
The closest friend I had,
Rescued me from this mire, amen!
Spewed out a poem, sad!
Through my veins, the blood of yore,
Now pumped with all its might,
My words had formed a heart, and more,
I lived again to fight!

Wa-Yabqa-Wajh-o-Rabbik: A Faiz nazm in English translation

This nazm, one of my all time favourites, was written by Faiz Sahab against the policies of the hardline Islamist dictator of his country, Zia-ul-Haq. It was immortalised by the great Iqbal Bano, who defied orders from the regime and sang it in public, which then became the anthem of the people! Find the link below to a great performance by Iqbal Bano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDXUD1-8bo

In the present time of religious bigotry and fundamentalism, such poetry evokes a sense of humanist pride in the reader/listener. Being an anthem of the oppressed, it would always make sense till the ideals of egalitarianism and democracy are effectively realised. I've tried my best to translate in a manner so as to maintain the rhyming scheme and also ensure that the strong message is not diluted beyond a certain limit, which cannot be fully avoided in translating thoughts from one language to another. Let's see how I fare with this almost impossible task!

Original Urdu (English Transliteration)

Hum dekhenge,
Laazim hai ki hum bhi dekhenge,
Wo din ke jiska wa'ada hai,
Jo loh-e-azal mein likha hai,

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-giraan,
Ruii ki tarah ud jaayenge,
Hum mahkoomoon ke paanv tale,
Dharti dhad dhad dhadkegi,
Aur ahl-e-hakam ke sar upar,
Jab bijli kad kad kadkegi,

Jab arz-e-Khuda ke ka'abe se,
Sab but uthwaaye jaayenge,
Hum ahl-e-safa, mardood-e-haram,
Masnad pe bithaaye jaayenge,
Sab taaj uchaale jaayenge,
Sab takht giraaye jaayenge,

Bas naam rahega Allah ka,
Jo gaayab bhi hai haazir bhi,
Jo manzar bhi hai naazir bhi,
Uthega anal-haq ka na'ara,
Jo mein bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho,

Aur raaj karegi khalq-e-Khuda,
Jo mein bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho!

English Translation

We'll see,
We're destined to see,
The day that has been promised, look!
The pages of the eternal book,

When the mountains of cruelty and pain,
Would fly away like cotton wool,
Mother Earth, beneath our shackled feet,
Would lub dub dub dub beat,
And on the heads of the oppressors would,
Rain showers of defeat,

And from the land of God would,
The idols soon be cast away,
We pure at heart, outcasts of now,
Would hold the sceptre, pray!
Tossed would be the crowns, no longer,
Shall the thrones hold sway!

And only would His name remain,
At once present and evanescent,
The observed, and so observant,
Vaporous, the cries of 'Truth Prevail',
Which means you and I!
Would rule the Earth, the lambs of God,
Which means you and I!

Layers

A poem is an onion,
Each read, another layer peeled,
And as we delve deeper,
And deeper still,
Layer after layer,
Lonely tear after tear,
Its flavour hangs vaporous,
Stronger and stronger till,
We reach it's solid core,
And then,
The levee breaks and,
Voila! Come the waterworks,
Unabated and real.

آمد دوم

An (amateur) Urdu translation of WB Yeats' famous modernist poem, 'The Second Coming', which was written highlighting the condition of post World War I Europe. The poem alludes to a lot of Christian lore, a lot of which, some modified accordingly, are also part of Islamic beliefs, of which I am entirely ignorant. Hence, the evident use of more secular imagery in my translation.

Original Poem:

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Urdu Translation:

آمد دوم 

حلقہ در حلقہ بڑھ جاوے فاصلے

راہبری کا نہ سن پاوے راہی

مرکز ناتواں ، گرتا ہے سب کچھ

دنیا میں ہے چھایا غدر کا عالم

ہے غریق دریا ے خوناب

ہر جانب رسم دیار معصوم

سرد پڑے جنون اہل دل ، اور

 - سوزاں ہے جذبہ  اہل ہوس

کوئی راز کا کھلنا ہے ضرور

آمد دوم کا وقت ہے ضرور

آمد دوم! ذکر ہوتے ہی

تاریخ کون و مکاں پہ نمایاں

 تصویر زحمت، بحر ریگ صحرا

اٹھے جس سے شیر سا بدن، آدم سا چہرہ

بے رحم نگاہیاں، مثل شمس دوپہر

جانگھوں کو ہلاے ہولے، اور درمیاں

- اڑتے دشت کے برہمی پنچھیوں کے ساے

پھر چھائی ظلمت، کہ واقف ہوں اب

بیس صدیوں کی بے جاں نیند کو

برے خوابوں میں پریشاں کرتے ، لرزے ہے جھولا

آخر کیسا حیوان، کہ وقت اب ہے آئ

سمت بیت لحم رینگے، پیدا ہونے کے لئے؟

English Transliteration:

Aamad e Dom

Halqa dar halqa badh jaawe faasle,

Raahbari ka na sun paawe raahi,

Markaz e natawaan, girta hai sab kuch,

Duniya mein hai chaaya ghadar ka aalam,

Hai ghareeq e darya e khoonaab,

Har jaanib rasm e dayaar e ma'asoom,

Sard pade junoon e ahl e dil, aur,

Sozaan hai jazba e ahl e hawas.

Koi raaz ka khulna hai zaroor,

Aamad e dom ka waqt hai zaroor,

Aamad e dom! Zikr hote hi,

Tareekh e kon o makaan pe numaayaan,

Tasweer e zehmat, beher e reg e sehra,

Uthe jis se sher sa badan, aadam sa chehra,

Be rehem nigaahiyaan, misl e shams e dopahar,

Jaanghon ko hilaaye haule, aur darmiyaan,

Udte dasht ke barhami panchiyon ke saaye.

Phir chaai zulmat, ke waaqif hoon ab,

Bees sadiyon ki be jaan neend ko,

Bure khaabon mein pareshaan karte, larze hai jhola,

Aakhir kaisa haiwaan, ke waqt ab hai aayi,

Simt e Bethlehem renge, paida hone ke liye?

ग़ज़ल

रात की मृत देह से उठ आई है एक सुप्रभात​,
अन्धेर आँसू पोछने लो आई है यह सुप्रभात,

रुदालियों को कर बिदा, देखो गगन की ठाठ​,
मांग पर सिंदूर सुहागन भरने आई सुप्रभात,

पत्तियों पर गिरके उठता उसके किरणों का जो लय,
भरने बसंती रंग उपवन में लो आई सुप्रभात​,

बागों के गर्दन को सजाने आई है एक सोनपरी,
और ओस की बूंदों के मोती को पिरोने सुप्रभात​,

धरती के अधरों पे है आई एक हँसी यह जान के,
सूखे माटी पे कनक बरसाने आई सुप्रभात​,

विश्व के सागर में उठते हैं लहर वो नाम से,
कहते "हुई अब नींद जागो आ गई है सुप्रभात​",

क्या कहे पत्थर के मूरत सौंपता जब फूल में,
"रात अब भी है तेरी और है मेरी यह सुप्रभात​!",

देखो डगर में घूमते तुम "साँस​" को उलझा यदि,

जान लो सब बन्द हैं मधुशालाएं, हो सुप्रभात​!

A Quick Translation: Roshan Jamaal-e-Yaar..... by Maulana Hasrat Mohani

A very popular ghazal by Maulana Hasrat Mohani, my favourite rendition is by Begum Abida Parveen from her album Raqs-e-Bismil (Dance of the Wounded); a quick, even haphazard, at times careless translation of this masterpiece. Do bear with me!

Urdu Original (English Transliteration):

Roshan jamaal-e-yaar se hai anjuman tamaam,
Dehka hua hai aatish-e-gul se chaman tamaam,

Hairat ghuroor-e-husn se, shokhi se izteraab,
Dil ne bhi tere seekh liye hain chalan tamaam,

Allah re! jism-e-yaar ki khoobi, ke khud ba khud,
Rangeeniyon mein doob gaya pairaahan tamaam,

Dil khoon ho chuka hai, jigar ho chuka hai khaak,
Baaqi hoon mein mujhe bhi kar ai! tegh zan tamaam,

Dekho to chashm-e-yaar ki jaadoo nigaahiyaan,
Behosh ik nazar mein hui anjuman tamaam,

Hai naaz-e-husn se jo firozaan jabeen-e-yaar,
Labreiz aab-e-noor hai chaah-e-zaqan tamaam,

Nash-o-numaa-e-sabza-o-gul se bahaar mein,
Shaadaabiyon ne gher liya hai chaman tamaam,

Is naazneen ne jab se kiya hai wahaan qayaam,
Gulzaar ban gayi hai zameen-e-dakkan tamaam,

Achcha hai ahl-e-jaur kiye jaaein sakhtiyaan,
Phailegi yoon hi shorish-e-habb-e-watan tamaam,

Samjhe hain ahl-e-sharq ko shaayad qareeb-e-marg,
Maghreb ke yoon hain jam'a ye zagh-o-zaghan tamaam,

Sheeriniye 'Naseem' hai, soz-o-gudaaz-e-'Meer',
'Hasrat' tere sukhan pe hai lutf-e-sukhan tamaam!

English Translation:

Illuminates, her graceful beauty, the gathering, aplenty,
A lone fiery bloom, up in flames, the garden aplenty,

Obfuscates, thy beauteous charm, wiles at the wink of an eye,
The heart has too, learnt the ways, of chicanery aplenty,

Hallelujah! Her material form, so wretchedly beautiful,
Flares up, a palette, a million hues, her raiment, aplenty,

My desolate heart lies wasted, my spirits lifeless and cold,
Relieve me, with the sword, like my shackles aplenty,

Behold! The captivating gaze, of her bottomless eyes,
In a moment, knocked out cold, the gathering, aplenty,

Unblemished shines her coquetry, through her lovely brow,
Every dent on her face now, emits radiance aplenty,

Blooms myriad hues of spring, fecund the lush green,
Clothed in verdant hues blooms the garden aplenty,

Since this land, she has made her home, lo behold! the sight,
The Deccan now, a flower-bed, with colours aplenty,

Let the oppressors oppress, it's a blessing in disguise,
Patriotic fires, would only then, be kindled aplenty,

Thinking the people of the Orient, close to mortal death,
In droves, the Occident's birds of prey, encircle aplenty!

Infuses the sweetness in 'Naseem', the passionate intensity of 'Meer',
'Hasrat', in thy verses, play, the nuances of poesy aplenty!

Wishful Thinking

I wish I were a long-lost rhyme, planted on thy luscious lips,
By the percussive raindrops, that set to tune, heartstrings thine,
I wish I were the morning rays, the sun that adorned thy world, Hark!
I would drench in light thy being so, sheer radiance, halo divine!
I wish I were the summer moon, that would thy sun eclipse,
Second fiddle, to thy refrain, to trail thy melody in a flash,
In thy heart, the forest dense, I wish I were a spark,
That would in flames, engulf it all, to leave just smoke and ash!

Sara

I had risen, like the Sun,
In her desolate Autumn,
Shining, hope and warmth abound,
I endeared myself to her,

We frolicked along the icy streets,
Melting the crystal snow,
Unwrapped the brightest hues of life,
From their coffins cold,

And as the air grew warmer,
The colours grew brighter still,
In them she made friends anew,
While haplessly I shone,

And then came her Spring, I saw,
Beauty unmatched, from far,
I was a relic of the past,
Having overstayed my welcome....

A Translation: Faiz Ahmed Faiz Sahab's "Ek Rahguzar Par"...... - "Down Memory Lanes"

The most ambitious of my translations, this is another beautiful nazm of Faiz Sahab's. It's written in 13 rhyming couplets and I have tried to retain the rhyming scheme and maintain the meter of the poem. Again, I have consciously avoided a literal translation; I have instead chosen words and phrases that would, in my humble opinion, capture the essence of the Urdu lines. For a few Urdu words and phrases, there could be no possible translation that would both capture the literal meaning and also produce the intended effect; I've liberally interpreted those into English verse, for example, the last couplet, it contains so much within so less that I'm inclined to believe that certain emotions could only be captured in specific languages and I may be forgiven if the liberties I've taken seem a little too much! I've never seen a woman being described in more flattering terms than these; Faiz Sahab was indeed one of the greatest romantics ever!

Original Urdu (English Transliteration):

Ek Rahguzar Par

Wo jiski deed mein laakhon masarratein pinhaan,
Wo husn jiski tamanna mein jannatein pinhaan,

Hazaar fitney, tah-e-paa-e-naaz, khaak nasheen,
Har ik nigaah khumaar-e-shabaab se rangeen,

Shabaab, jis se takhayyul pe bijliyaan barsein,
Waqaar, jiski rafaaqat ko shokhiyaan tarsein,

Ada-e-laghzish-e-paa par qayamatein qurbaan,
Bayaaz-e-rukh pe sahar ki sabaahatein qurbaan,

Siyaah zulfon mein warafta nikhaton ka hujoom,
Taweel raaton ki khwaabeeda raahaton ka hujoom,

Wo aankh jis ke banaao pe Khaaliq itraaye,
Zubaan-e-sh'er ko t'aareef karte sharm aaye,

Woh hont faiz se jin ke bahaar laala farosh,
Bahisht-o-Kauser-o-Tasneem-o-Salsabeel badosh,

Gudaaz jism qaba jis pe saj ke naaz kare,
Daraaz qad jise sarw-e-sahi namaaz kare,

Gharaz, wo husn jo muhtaaj-e-wasf-e-naam nahin,
Wo husn jis ka tasawwur bashar ka kaam nahin,

Kisi zamaane mein is rahguzar se guzra tha,
Basad ghuroor-o-tajammul, idhar se guzra tha,

Aur ab ye raahguzar bhi hai dilfareb-o-haseen,
Hai iski khaak mein kaif-e-sharaab-o-sh'er makeen,

Hawa mein shokhi-e-raftaar ki adaaein hain,
Faza mein narmi-e-guftaar ki sadaaein hain,

Gharaz, wo husn ab is rah ka juzu-e-manzar hai,
Nayaaz-e-ishq ko ik sajda-gah mayassar hai.........

English Translation: 

Down Memory Lanes

The one, beneath whose eyes, a million delights conceal,
Her beauty, the allure, paths to Pearly Gates conceal,

Tempts, her delicate tread, in a thousand ways, my soul,
Fecund, her intoxicating youth, in each glance of hers we stole,

Aah youth! that electrifies, the realm of my senses so,
The companionship, of the solemnity seeks, each gaiety, piningly so,

Sighs, the end of it all, as each caprice of her sashays,
Odes, in bright light, the morning, weaves to caress her face,

Stifled, in her dark tresses, heady fragrances brew,
For longish nights, a respite, as delightful dreams ensue,

The creator himself, proudly exults, at the form of her eyes,
Tongue-tied, lines of verse, in vain, to paint her form, it tries,

The bounteous lips, they lend, a rosy hue to Spring,
Led astray, those who seek, heavenly streams, they bring,

On her ravishing form, meanders, flowing robes, her attire,
Songs of wandering minstrels, her stately build, inspires,

Such beauty, need not on, ministrations it thrive,
Not possibly from mortal thoughts, it may soul derive,

Long ago, through these lanes, I had for a moment, passed,
Held in awe, her enticing frame, vainglorious, as I passed,

Down these memory lanes, enamoured, enticed, I traverse,
Enwraps my being, the very wind, she breathed in wine and verse,

Hangs vaporous, the elegance, over the ground once she tread,
Softly plays in the air, her eloquence, a melody she impressed,

And thus, these lanes shall forever, her immortal beauty retain,
Always would, for seekers true, a refuge they remain.......

Reason and Rhyme

Your poems are obsessively mine, 
I live each metaphor enthusiastically, 
Breathes life into me each allusion, 
And I paint vivid vignettes of my own, 
I yodel and howl and bark and plop, 
To bring to life thy onomatopoeia, 
Sing along to the chorus, iambic pentameter, 
And falsetto to the haunting refrain, 
Mere mention of a breeze ruffles my hair, 
Brings to me thy distant fragrance, 
Drenches me each raindrop and tear, 
And I shiver, helpless and frail, 
Amuses me every limerick and riddle, 
In your voice, the cadence I hear, 
In awe, mouth gaping wide, 
I relive each memory, 
Hand in hand with you, 
And as you end your little adventure, 
I fall to the floor, limp and lifeless, 
Only to rise and live again, 
Through thy verse and rhyme.

The Funeral: Grave Diggers

I was buried not long ago, 

Without much fan or fare, 

Few lips that prayed a requiem low, 

Few anecdotes to share,

I had in mind a different scene, 

Oft in dreams I dreamt, 

Few limericks for what I'd been, 

To inveigle and to tempt,

Shrouded in a regal way, 

And a countenance to match, 

Emotions running high, astray, 

A mournful lovely batch,

But alas! It dawned on me, 

Brought forth a lonely tear, 

The world that we now touch and see, 

Is the very one we fear,

We love those who would never care, 

In earnest bits of heart and soul, 

Sleepless nights, Into darkness stare, 

On fragile hearts, memories toll.

My Masterpiece

On parchments fine, 
In vain I try, 
To build in verse a masterpiece, 
My very own last supper in rhyme, 
A futile attempt to reason, 
With words of mine,tainted, 
Hollow and bare, 
Shamelessly hers to claim, 
That clings to a fond memory, 
That my pinings conjure, 
As blooms to a long lost spring, 
A relic of affluence, 
Still painfully fragrant, 
In acrostics I try to spell her name, 
Only to deceive my own intentions, 
To put to order emotions mine, 
And I get lost amidst, 
Her tresses and my words.

Happy Birthday!

Another year older,

And none the wiser,

And such other cliches,

That remind you,

There's nothing as pedestrian as,

Looking in the mirror at an aging visage,

Greying ends of lost chances,

That whooshed past to ricochet,

Off the smooth surface,

Of liquid glass,

And form the humble reflection,

That fills into the mould,

Of your present self.

An excerpt from Vaikom Mohammad Basheer's Janmadinam for those who can read Malayalam: http://indulekha.com/malayalambooks/2008/05/janmadinam.html

Bits and Pieces

Holding my life by the scruff of the neck,
She casts me away with a dismissive gaze,
Like crumpled sheets of incomplete verse,
Discarded frivolously about,
The confines of her personal space,
Her sanitarium of sorts,
I picked up bits of blotted lines,
To spell out my luckless name,
But alas! Even with harsher lines,
She enlivens my dreary life!

Poet and Status Quo

As a cynic, I believe,
That cynicism is the last step,
Of Status Quo,

And the first step,
To revolution, a violent overthrow,
Of the existing order.

Indolence, on the other hand,
Is sublime, as the Poet,
Practiser of the art.

Speak of a revolution,
Yawn a little, stretch a little,
And maintain Status Quo.