Sahitya Akademi

The Poet
Author(s): Ali Sardar Jafri
Source: Indian Literature, Vol. 45, No. 5 (205) (September-October, 2001), pp. 36-37
Published by: Sahitya Akademi
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23344563
Accessed: 25-02-2021 00:34 UTC

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when seeds smile under the earth
seedlings stretch their fingers
to touch the layers of the soil
I shall open my eyes again
with every bud, every leaf
and on my palm shall rest
fresh dew-drops
transformed to henna's tint, ghazal's lilt
I shall become the very style of speech
and, like a new bride's blushing cheek
peep through every veil.
When the wintry breeze brings
autumn's harvest in its wings
all the golden rivers on the earth
all the blue lakes in the sky
shall be filled with my being
and the world shall witness
that every tale is my tale
that every lover is Sardar here
and Sultana, every beloved.

From the dry leaves

crunched over by wayfarers
shall come the sound of my laughter
I am a fugitive moment
in the magic-house of diurnal Time
I am a restless droplet
always on a journey
flowing from the womb of the past
into the lap of future
by turns I sleep and wake up
and again go to sleep
for centuries I'm playing this game
by dying I achieve immortal fame

The Poet

I, a pearl of tear
on the bluish cheek of pain
a drop of innocent blood
on a ruthless sword's edge
an impassioned kiss
36 / Indian Literature : 205

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on lips deprived of kisses
a dazzling smile, fearless
against the dazzle of knives;
I am a clarion call
a flag
the sudden laughter of the sea
I am more than all this—
its import conveyed
by the word, poet;
the form of a lyric
the image of a song.

An Anxious Dream

It was an anxious dream, nothing more:

man has stopped oppression and darkness,
earth is still verdant, spinning on its axis
the heart is still lit up with the flame of desire;
the sun rises from the womb of pain and fear,
the moon emerges, wrapped in beauty and love,
the roses bloom and embrace each other,
and their glory spreads from bower to bower.

Translated by M.Asaduddin

Ali Sardar Jafri / 37

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