"Insatiable Grievance" by Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869)

Insatiable Grievance

Once again, tear filled eyes entered my recollection,

The insatiable grievance of my heart and soul neared.

Yet the trumpet of doom still had not taken a breath,

When, again, the time of your journey’s departure arose.

Ah! As a result of the simplicity of my desire,

My beloved’s enthralling vision electrified.

Ah! Excuses for those who must endure heartfelt grief:

I was sobbing, as an unbiased observer, for them

When the memory of my partner surfaced and tears spilled alee.

Life would have ensued in this commonness,

Why does your passage come to mind constantly?

Indeed! What a fight I will be fighting with Heaven’s Gatekeeper,

If your home in Paradise came not near mine!

Ah! The courage to complain no more,

After my mind’s distress, my darling heart calms.

Again, thoughts drift towards the direction of your scriptural boulevard,

Perhaps a lost, darling heart may come into view?

Ah! This desolation is such desolation,

Looking at the desert, my home comes to view.

Between childishness and madness, I lift a stone at Layla’s Qays and myself Majnun and Asad,

Nevertheless, when I lift that first stone, my end comes to mind and I awaken, mortal.

Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan Ghalib (27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869) translated from the Urdu by Manfred Spencer Alverston & Associates.