Ghalib!

Oceans continue to have high and low tides still
Carpenter Bees continue to hover over flowers
The sky continues to play chameleon at will
Plants still sprouting only after the seed explodes…

Ghalib!

Darkness still puts on that ebony mantle, and for that
The glow-worms lay in wait for the whole day;
No matter how high-rise the building is,
The gentle breeze continues amusing itself with window leaves
There sceptres of monarchy no longer exist
But the spectre of the wretched indigence continues to reign…

Ghalib!

The world continues to regale in your poems
Yet, the inevitable continue to betide lives
Every wall continues to get drenched in rain
And some remedy or the other is available for cold

Ghalib!

The inheritance of your wounds continues to prevail
And on the twigs of roses, prickles continue to shoot,
And entwining brambles, the blooming creepers still survive.
It’s only you that is missing, that’s all! People haven’t changed
And even the Moon continues to exhibit the same old phases

Ghalib!

The cook continues to have the first taste of dish
And only the farmer harvests the crops still,
Religion continues to have good currency
And the watch continues to turn its hands…

Ghalib!

Everything comes out of nothing
And for nothing everything ceases
Darkness continues to lay siege of lamp
And from somewhere, a cuckoo empties its strains…

Ghalib!

Beautiful Cups of wine are churned out continuously
And the garlands of jasmine girdled amidst others
Continue to wither along with others by daybreak

Ghalib!

Even when the front seats are vacant
People still prefer to stand back
To listen to your poetry rendering…
And they continue to search for
What you had searched before…
Yet, they couldn’t find the veritable Truth.

Ghalib!

Darkness to light
And Light into darkness continue to transform
The lone man continues to be alone
And in the absence of eupnoea
Bodies turn to termite colonies.

Original: Gorey Saif Ali (Telugu)
Translation: N S Murty

Telugu Source: Saaranga Ghalib!