Woh sahar ki ubharti surkh lali,
Jo fajr ka karti hai Khush Hali,
Kya hogi yeh subah bakhair,
Ya guzre ga yeh din beghair?
Woh khawab jo Shab mein Dekhe hain,
Jo neend ki genehrayon mein base hain,
Kya aaj Woh honge Zahire Amal,
Ya beete hue Tajurbah ke, honge sirf nakam mahal?
Tarikee dheemi hui, phaila Noor falak per,
Poocha Maine Aftab se, “hoga aaj wahi Manzar,
Teri shuaaein se meri jism ko hai wahi faida,
Sirf Zinda Rakhna hai mujhe, Kya hai sirf yahi irada?”
Kya jeeta hoon main, bas qudrati Ehsan ke tukron per?
Hai na koi ehsas o khwahish, Jinhe pakar,
Ek nam o Nishan chod Doon ‘Elham,’ Aane walon per,
Chand phool bochain, ek Chiragh jalayen woh meri mazar per.
Elham
Translated
That morning glow, so bold and red,
Where dawn its joyful grace has shed,
Will this bright sunrise bring us peace,
Or will the day unheeded cease?
The dreams we dreamt beneath the veil of night,
That dwell in sleep’s deep chambers, out of sight,
Will today bring those visions into life,
Or end, like past attempts, in failure and strife?
The darkness softened, light spread across the sky,
I asked the sun, “Will today the same scene come by,
Will your rays benefit my body the same,
Just to keep me alive — is that your only aim?”
Am I living just on crumbs of nature’s grace,
With no desire or dream to leave a trace,
So that ‘Elham’ might live in memories of men,
And they lay flowers and light a lamp upon my grave then?
Elham
