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اُردُوback GHALIB
translation from the Urdu by M. Shahid Alam
[One life, a thousand wishes, each to die for slowly.]
One life, a thousand wishes, each to die for slowly.
Many cups fill to the brim, many more lie empty.
Have no fear, love, your gloves will not be gory.
In tears, all my life, my blood has left my body.
Adam stripped of Eden: what was his pain to me,
Until she grown tired showed the door to me.
If you wish poured your heart at her feet, ask me.
I start my day early, with pen, ink, paper ready.
This is her country, here life & death trade places.
Her presence offers life: one look takes it from me.
Ghalib, what is it that sends a mullah to a tavern?
Yet, I once saw him leave that place, his gait unsteady. 
Contributor’s notes
Translation notes
[Inside the heart, love carps it lacks space.]
[One life, a thousand wishes, each to die for slowly.]
[You stopped just short of the highest note.]
[What will my friends do when all their gambits fail?]