lafzo ke guldasto me
kagaji phool they
khusbuye khwab thi
arth kam zarf they
lafzo ke guldasto me
plastiki darrkt they
titliya bejaan thi
tum bade sakt the
o jo hawa ho to tera mera badan
to kaha hoti ye chubhan
jo na hota dil seene me
to kya hota dard jeene me
lafzo ke guldasto me
kagaji phool they
lafzo ke guldasto me
plastiki darrkt they

unki hi bazm e guna hote they
unki hi bazm e guna hote they
sajabtiye sanso ke tofe hi tofe they
jo na hota tere mera badan
to kaha hoti ye chubhan
jo na hota dil seene me
to kya hota dard jeene me
mujhe lafz na dikho
mujhe lafz na sunao
sangmarmar ke parindo ko
zara aasma to dikhao
sabnam ki nami do
lahar ko tarange do
safar me sath ho
to sath apna sang do

In word-wreaths, paper blooms,
Where scents were dreams,
And meanings, meager tombs.
In word-wreaths, plastic trees,
With lifeless wings, the butterflies,
And you, so stern, you'd freeze.

If wind had been our bodies' guise,
Where then, this piercing ache would rise?
If heart were absent from the chest,
Then what the pain of life, unblessed?
In word-wreaths, paper blooms again,
In word-wreaths, plastic trees sustain.

Their circle, where sins convene,
Adorned by breaths, a bought-and-sold scene.
If wind had been our bodies' guise,
Where then, this piercing ache would rise?
If heart were absent from the chest,
Then what the pain of life, unblessed?

Show me no words, I beg of you,
No phrases whispered, false and new.
To marble birds, the skies impart,
And show them freedom in their heart.
Give dew its damp, the wave its crest,
If journeys bind, be my blessed guest.