koi ummid bar nahin aati
koi surat nazar nahin aati

no hope is there that now comes to light
nor is there any avenue in sight

maut ka ek din muayyan hai
nind kyun raat bhar nahin aati

when for death a day has been ordained
what reason that i cannot sleep all night?

aage aati thi haal-e-dil pe hansi
ab kisi baat par nahin aati

nothing now could even make me smile,
i once could laugh at my heart's own plight

jaanta hun sawab-e-taat-o-zohd
par tabiat idhar nahin aati

virtues of restraint and prayer i know
but neither do my temperament excite

hai kuchh aisi hi baat jo chup hun
warna kya baat kar nahin aati

do you think i know not how to speak?
there's something- my tongue i have to bite

kyun na chikhun ki yaad karte hain
meri aawaz gar nahin aati

when absence of my voice makes her pine
why then should i not shout with all my might?

dagh-e-dil gar nazar nahin aata
bu bhi ai chaaragar nahin aati

o healer does not any smell persist
if burning scars of heart are not in sight?

hum wahan hain jahan se hum ko bhi
kuchh hamari khabar nahin aati

i'm at a place from where no news of me
now even to myself can come to light

marte hain aarzu mein marne ki
maut aati hai par nahin aati

i die yearning as i hope for death
death does come to me but then not quite

kaba kis munh se jaoge 'ghaalib'
sharm tum ko magar nahin aati

ghalib,what face will you to the kaabaa take
when you are not ashamed and not contrite