bazicha-e-atfal hai duniya mere aage
hota hai shab-o-roz tamasha mere aage

just like a child's playground this world appears to me
every single night and day, this spectacle i see

ek khel hai aurang-e-sulaiman mere nazdik
ek baat hai ejaz-e-masiha mere aage

the throne of mighty solomon's a trifle merely
the messiah's miracle's just another thing to me

juz nam nahin surat-e-alam mujhe manzur
juz wahm nahin hasti-e-ashiya mere aage

except in name the world exists, i do not agree
and objects of this life cannot but a delusion be

hota hai nihan gard mein sahra mere hote
ghista hai jabin khak pe dariya mere aage

deserts are interned in sand in my presence see
rivers rub their foreheads in dust in front of me

mat puchh ki kya haal hai mera tere pichhe
tu dekh ki kya rang hai tera mere aage

ask not, in your absence, what my state is apt to be
you see your own condition when you're in front of me

sach kahte ho khud-bin o khud-ara hun na kyun hun
baitha hai but-e-aina-sima mere aage

'tis true i preen, why should i not, self indulgently?
when the beauty, mirror-faced, sits in front of me

phir dekhiye andaz-e-gul-afshani-e-guftar
rakh de koi paimana-e-sahba mere aage

only then, my eloquence, will you chance to see
let first a cup of wine be placed there in front of me

nafrat ka guman guzre hai main rashk se guzra
kyunkar kahun lo nam na un ka mere aage

i refrain from envy lest it's deemed antipathy
how can i ask anyone "don't speak of her to me"?

iman mujhe roke hai jo khinche hai mujhe kufr
kaba mere pichhe hai kalisa mere aage

faith restrains me while i am tugged at by heresy
behind me stands the mosque, the church in front of me

aashiq hun pa mashuq-farebi hai mera kaam
majnun ko bura kahti hai laila mere aage

though a lover i seduce my loved ones craftily
laila speaks ill of majnuu.n when in front of me

khush hote hain par wasl mein yun mar nahin jate
aai shab-e-hijran ki tamanna mere aage

although in union happy you don't die of ecstacy
the wish for night of separation comes in front of me

hai maujzan ek qulzum-e-khun kash yahi ho
aata hai abhi dekhiye kya kya mere aage

if only did this ocean of blood rage relentlessly
what else lies in store for me i have yet to see

go hath ko jumbish nahin aankhon mein to dam hai
rahne do abhi saghar-o-mina mere aage

let the cup and flask of wine remain in front of me
though my hands are motionless, my eyes as yet can see

ham-pesha o ham-mashrab o hamraaz hai mera
'ghaalib' ko bura kyun kaho achchha mere aage

colleague, coimbiber and my confidante is he
tell me why you criticize ghalib in front of me