<link>

and Wikipedia

<link>
Is Se Pahale Ke Bevafaa Ho Jaaye.n
By Ahmed Faraz

Translated by Ayesha Kaljuvee

is se pahale ke bevafaa ho jaaye.n
before that day we become disloyal
kyo.n na ai dost ham judaa ho jaaye.n
why not, my friend, go our separate ways

tuu bhii hiire se ban gayaa patthar
you also turned from a jewel to stone
ham bhii kal kyaa se kyaa ho jaaye.n
i too will change to another tomorrow

tuu kay yakta tha bayshumar hoo.ah
you who were lone became ubiquitous
ham bhii toote.n to jabaja ho jaaye.n
when i break, everywhere I too will scatter

ham bhii majabuuriyo.n kaa uzr kare.n
i should also contest my obligations
aur kahii.n aur mubtalaa ho jaaye.n
and involve myself somewhere else

ham agar manzale.n naa ban paaye.n
if i can't become the destination
manzalo.n tak ka raasta ho jaaye.n
let me be the path to that haven

dair say soch mei.n hai.n parwanay
like moths, my thoughts flutter around you
rakh ho jaaye.n, ya hawa ho jaaye.n
should i die in that fire, or fly like the wind

ishq bhii khel hai nasiibo.n kaa
love is the playground of the fortunate
Khaak ho jaaye.n kimiyaa ho jaaye.n
to become ash, to be like cinders

ab ke gar tuu mile to ham tujh se
if i meet you again, to you
aise lipaTe.n terii qabaa ho jaaye.n
i will cling as if you were my Mecca

bandagii ham ne chho.D dii hai 'Faraz'
i have left behind religion, Faraz
kyaa kare.n log jab Khudaa ho jaaye.n
now that even humans seem divine
___________________

Badan Me.n Aag Sii Cheharaa Gulaab Jaisaaa Hai
By Ahmed Faraz
Translated by Ayesha Kaljuvee

badan me.n aag sii cheharaa gulaab jaisaaa hai
fire in her body, face like a rose
ke zahar-e-Gam kaa nashaa bhii sharaab jaisaa hai
the pathos of this love is intoxicating

kahaa.N vo qurb ke ab to ye haal hai jaise
such is the closeness that now
tere firaaq kaa aalam bhii Khvaab jaisaa hai
even the prospect of her leaving is like a dream

magar kabhii ko_ii dekhe ko_ii pa.Dhe to sahii
but somebody should see, should also read
dil aa_iinaa hai to cheharaa kitaab jaisaa hai
the heart is a mirror, a face is like a book

vo saamane hai magar tishnagii nahii.n jaatii
she stands in front of me but i still thirst for her
ye kyaa sitam hai ke dariyaa saraab jaisaa hai
what is this anguish that the ocean seems a mirage

'Faraz' sang-e-malaamat se zaKhm zaKhm sahii
Faraz, let there be wound upon wound
hame.n aziiz hai Khaanaa_Kharaab jaisaa hai
i love her even if there is only torment here

Two Poems By Ahmed Faraz

Friends came only to hurt me (for)

They came only to talk of you.

When flowers bloom, I can not help but think
Arrive the ages of your coming.

Such a quietude has taken over me as if
I come to tell you (the) condition (of my heart)!

Love stands alone at the head of sorrow's path
(For) who will shoulder such a burden!

Look at me, stranger friend, for
I have come to make you remember something.

My heart beats in the noise of journey,
Would that someone comes to call me back again!

Even crying makes me ache,
Perhaps I will come to my senses now!

Why have people come to celebrate,
Did, again, a settlement die somewhere?

Sleep in the lap of death, Faraz,

Who knows when sleep will come!

Dreams do not die.

Dreams are not hearts, nor eyes or breath
Which shattered, will scatter (or)
Die with the death of the body.

Dreams do not die.
Dreams are light, life, wind,
Which can not be stopped by mountains black,
Which do not burn in the hells of cruelty,
Like light and life and wind, they
Do not bow down even in graveyards.

Dreams are letters,
Dreams are illumination,
Dreams are Socrates,

Dreams are Mansur!'

Art: Thanks. This is a man to be admired. “Dreams are Socrates”: I like that thought. Dreams do not die.

Artemesia,

Thanks for these. Pressed for time, so I'll ask:

of the first ghazal, the repetitive phrase in Urdu is ho jaaye.n
My best guess of the English translation would be something like "I become" or "I transform or change" and even that is not entirely consistent with the translated lines. What do you think?

In the second, the repetitive Urdu phrase is jaisaa hai. It appears to mean something like "appears" or seems." Again, any guesses?

I ran across Ahmed Faraz several months ago when I first learned of both ghazal and subsequently him. I posted a few of his poems, though neither of these. I am sorry to learn he's died. I would like to find some soundfiles of readings of these in Urdu.

Thanks for posting these lovely poems.