Ehad-e-Tifli
The Age of Infancy
Thay diyar e nau zameen o aasman mere liye
wussat e aaghaush e madar ek jahan mere liye
The earth and sky were unknown worlds to me
Only the expanse of mother’s bosom was a world to me
Thi har ek junbish nishan e lutf e jaan mere liye
harf e be matlab thi khud meri zuban mere liye
Every movement was a symbol of life’s pleasure to me
My own speech was like a meaningless word to me
Dard, tiflee mein agar koi rulata tha mujhe
shorish e zanjeer e dar mein lutf aata tha mujhe
During infancy’s pain if somebody made me cry
The noise of the door chain would comfort me
Takte rehana haye! vo pehron talak suay qamar
vo phate badal mein be aawaz e paa uss ka safar
Oh! How I stared at the moon for long hours
Staring at its silent journey among brokenclouds
Pochna reh reh ke uss ke koh o sehra ki khabar
aur vo herat darogh e muslahat aamaz per
I would ask repeatedly about its mountains and plains
And how surprised would I be at that prudent lie
Aankh waqaf e deed thi, lab mayal e guftar tha
dil na tha mera, sarapa zauq e istafsar tha
My eye was devoted to seeing, my lip was prone to speak
My heart was no less than inquisitiveness personified