mera maji meri tanhai ka ye andha shigaaf
ye ke sanso ki tarh mere sath cahlta raha
jo meri nabj ki manind mere sath jiya
jisko aate huye jate huye beshumar lamhe
apni sangalakh ungaliyo se
gahara karte rahe karte gaye
kisi ki ok paa lene ko lahu bahta raha

kisi ko ham-nafas kahne ki justuju mein raha
koi to ho jo besakhta isko pahchane
tadap ke palte achanak ise pukar uthe
mere ham-shakh mere ham shakh
meri udasiyo ke hissedar
mere adhurepan ke dost

tamam jhkhm jo tere hai mere dard tamam
teri karah ka rishta hai meri aaho se
tu ek masjid-e-viraan hai main teri anjan
anjan jo apni hi viranigi se takra kar
thaki chhupi bewa jami ke daman par
padhe namaj khuda jane kisko sijda kare

My rudder, the chasm of my solitude, a blind fissure,
It has walked with me, a phantom breath,
Living as my pulse, within my being,
While countless moments, arriving and departing,
With rugged fingers, they deepened,
And deepened,
As blood flowed, seeking a haven.

Yearning to call someone my breath-mate,
Seeking one who would instantly know,
Who, startled, would turn and cry out:
My kindred branch, my kindred branch,
Partner in my desolation,
Friend of my incompleteness.

All your wounds, my aches, every one,
Your cries are bound to my sighs,
You are a desolate mosque, I am your call to prayer,
A call that, striking its own emptiness,
Falls, weary and hidden, on the widow's lap of earth,
Recites prayers, God knows, to whom it bows.