جہاں تیرا نقشِ قدم دیکھتے ہیں
خیاباں خیاباں اِرم دیکھتے ہیں
Where we behold your footprint,
Garden after garden, we see Iram (Paradise).
Where we behold your footprint,
Garden after garden, we see Iram (Paradise).
Distraught hearts, by the mole at the corner of the mouth,
In the black spot (of the heart), they behold the journey to non-existence.
From your cypress-like stature, a human height,
They see the tribulation of Doomsday as insignificant.
Behold! O engrossed in self-admiration,
With what longing do we gaze upon you.
Trace the sigh from the heart's wound,
For we behold the footprint of the night traveler.
Disguising ourselves as beggars, Ghalib,
We watch the spectacle of the benevolent.
This ghazal by Ghalib exemplifies classical Urdu poetry's thematic depth, where the beloved's footprint transforms every path into paradise and their cypress-like stature makes even doomsday's terrors seem minor. The poem delves into the lover's desperate longing, their heart's journey into non-existence, and the poignant observation of the beloved's self-absorption. Ghalib's signature philosophical melancholy and humble quest for grace, adopting the guise of a beggar, are vividly portrayed, reflecting the intricate interplay of love, beauty, and existential contemplation common in his work.
love & longing (ishq, judāī) · grief (gham) · wonder & existence