Venice masks

Saturday 23 March 2013

A Thousand Desires - Mirza Ghalib

Thousands of desires, each worth dying for...
Many of them I have realised... yet I yearn for more...

Why should my killer be afraid? No one will hold her responsible
For the blood which will continuously flow through my eyes all my life

We have heard about the dismissal of Adam from Heaven,
With more humiliation, I am leaving the street on which you live...

Oh tyrant, your true personality will be known to all
If the curls of my hair slip through my turban!

But if someone wants to write her a letter, they can ask me,
Every morning I leave my house with my pen on my ear.

In that age, I turned to drinking
And then the time came when my entire world was occupied by alcohol

From whom I expected justice for my weakness
Turned out to be more injured with the same cruel sword

When in love, there is little difference between life and death
We live by looking at the infidel who we are willing to die for

Put some pressure on your heart to remove that cruel arrow,
For if the arrow comes out, so will your heart... and your life.

For god's sake, don't lift the cover off any secrets you tyrant
The infidel might turn out to be my lover!

The preacher and the bar's entrance are way apart
Yet I saw him entering the bar as I was leaving!

Thousands of desires, each worth dying for...
Many of them I have realized... yet I yearn for more

Mirza Ghalib (1797 - 1869)India

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