madrasa ya dair tha ya kaba ya but-khana tha
hum sabhi mehman the wan tu hi sahab-khana tha

temple, seminary, mosque, or idol's home it be
we were merely guests therein, the manor's lord was thee

wae nadani ki waqt-e-marg ye sabit hua
khwab tha jo kuchh ki dekha jo suna afsana tha

innocence! at curtain call of life / this we inferred
what we saw was but a dream, a tale all that we heard

haif! kahte hain hua gulzar taraj-e-khizan
aashna apna bhi wan ek sabza-e-begana tha

by autumn's hand, the garden was / destroyed they say, alas!
dear to me, there used to be, another's patch of grass

ho gaya mehman-sara-e-kasrat-e-mauhum aah
wo dil-e-khali ki tera khas khalwat-khana tha

in the inn / innumerable / illusions now intrude
that vacant heart / which was your special place for solitude

bhul ja khush rah abas we sabiaqe mat yaad kar
'dard'! ye mazkur kya hai aashna tha ya na tha

be happy forgetting / all those friendships don’t recall
why this talk, of if she was / or not a friend at all?