Gone are the days when I would
smell your fragrance
And remember your face at the sight
of a flower
Gone are the days when I would sing
of Qais’s grandeur
And praise the gorgeous nature
of Farhad
Gone are the days when admiring
your stature
I would contend with the cypress
and the rose
Gone are the days when I would free
Some birds
Upon hearing the arrival
of a message from you
Don’t trap me in your tresses now,
gone are the days
When I would be happy to snare
myself in such travails!
I’m caught up with a different order
of Justice now
Gone are the days when I would
complaint my woes to you
The desire of going to Ka’ba
maddens me Ghalib
Gone are the days when I would
long for Khalq and Nowshad!
© translated from Persian by Ashaq
Hussain Parray
