Poem – Last Night

Last night your faded memory came to me
As in the wilderness spring comes quietly,

As, slowly, in the desert moves thew breeze,

As to a sick man, without cause, comes peace
[Original: Urdu, Translated by: Faiz Ahmed Faiz] 

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Poem – All You Who Sleep Tonight

All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,

No hand to left or right

And emptiness above –
Know that you aren’t alone

The whole world shares your tears,

Some for two nights or one,

And some for all their years. 

Poem – Interpretation

Somewhere within your loving look I sense,

Without the least intention to deceive,

Without suspicion, without evidence,

Somewhere within your heart the heart to leave. 

Poem – Unclaimed

To make love with a stranger is the best.
There is no riddle and there is no test. —
To lie and love, not aching to make sense

Of this night in the mesh of reference.
To touch, unclaimed by fear of imminent day,

And understand, as only strangers may.
To feel the beat of foreign heart to heart

Preferring neither to prolong nor part.
To rest within the unknown arms and know

That this is all there is; that this is so. 

Poem – Sit

Sit, drink your coffee here; your work can wait awhile.
You’re twenty-six, and still have some life ahead.

No need for wit; just talk vacuities, and I’ll

Reciprocate in kind, or laugh at you instead.
The world is too opaque, distressing and profound.

This twenty minutes’ rendezvous will make my day:

To sit here in the sun, with grackles all around,

Staring with beady eyes, and you two feet away. 

Poem – Across

Across these miles I wish you well.
May nothing haunt your heart but sleep.

May you not sense what I don’t tell.

May you not dream, or doubt, or weep.

May what my pen this peaceless day

Writes on this page not reach your view

Till its deferred print lets you say

It speaks to someone else than you. 

Poem – Prandial Plaint

My love, I love your breasts, I love your nose.
I love your accent and I love your toes.

I am your slave. One word, and I obey.

But please don’t slurp your morning brew that way.