koi bheega hua daaman, koi dukhti hui rag

tum na aaey thay to her cheez vaheeN thee keh jo hai
AasmaaN hudd-e-nazar, rahguzar, rahguzar, sheesha-e-may, shisha-e-may

aur abb sheehsha-e-may, rahguzar, rang-e-falak
rang hai dil ka merey, "Khoon-e-jigar honey tak"
champa'ii rang kabhi, rahat-e-deedar ka rang
surama'ii rang kabhi, saa'at-e-bay_zaar ka rang

zard patton ka Khas-o-Khar ka rang
surKh pholoon ka, dehektey huey gulzaar ka rang
zehar ka rang, lahuu rang, shab-e-taar ka rang

aasmaaN, rehguzar, sheesha-e-may
koi bheega hua daaman, koi dukhti hui rag,
koi her lehza badalta hua aain'a hai

abb jo aaii ho to Thehro keh koi rang, koi rut, koi shay
ek jagah par Thehray
phir sey ik baar her ik cheez, vohi ho keh jo hai
aasmaaN hadd-e-nazar, rahguzar, rahguzar, sheesha-e-may, sheesha-e-may


Before you came things were just what they were:
the road precisely a road, the horizon fixed,
the limit of what could be seen,
a glass of wine was no more than a glass of wine.

With you the world took on the spectrum
radiating from my heart: your eyes gold
as they open to me, slate the color
that falls each time I lost all hope.

With your advent roses burst into flame:
you were the artist of dried-up leaves, sorceress
who flicked her wrist to change dust into soot.
You lacquered the night black.

As for the sky, the road, the cup of wine:
one was my tear-drenched shirt,
the other an aching nerve,
the third a mirror that never reflected the same thing.

Now you are here again—stay with me.
This time things will fall into place;
the road can be the road,
the sky nothing but sky;
the glass of wine, as it should be, the glass of wine.