The Lone Lament

Mujeeb Jaihoon’s poem celebrating the bittersweet melodies of separation and the triumph of love.

Days and nights
Keep passing by;
Your memory-kite
Yet flies high.

Hey, the coolness of my eyes!
Hey, the warmth of my heart!

Even as I hide my pain,
Absorbed in zeroes and ones,
My heart aches even more
For your compassionate smile.

The heart translates its
Pain into tears,
So that I acknowledge
Its wounded plight.

The Wise say:
Distance in love is a fortune,
Love grows more
In places away.

Hey, the sweet warrior
Who slaughtered my pride,
Who made me triumphant
Even as I lost to your love.

The blood of His Mercy flowed,
As you struck with your love-sword.

I raise no claims
For my surge;
Whatever I won
To Him belongs all praise.

Hey, the love-filled pearl!
Bestow on this empty shell
Your melodious rhyme,
To hum until you come.

March 2005. Edit March 2024