muddat hui hai yar ko mehman kiye hue
josh-e-qadah se bazm charaghan kiye hue

its been long, since my lover, was a guest of mine
and my house was suffused with the glow of wine

karta hun jama phir jigar-e-lakht-lakht ko
arsa hua hai dawat-e-mizhgan kiye hue

i again amass the shards of my heart somehow
ages since i've feasted on her eyelashes now

phir waz'-e-ehtiyat se rukne laga hai dam
barson hue hain chaak gareban kiye hue

the demands of decorum cause me great torment
long past since my collar, in my craziness i rent

phir garm-nala-ha-e-sharar-bar hai nafas
muddat hui hai sair-e-charaghan kiye hue

lament longs that from my breath may sparks of fire flow
lts been a while since on a journey, of lights i did go

phir pursish-e-jarahat-e-dil ko chala hai ishq
saman-e-sad-hazar namak-dan kiye hue

love proceeds to console my wounded heart again
while carrying with it quantities of salt for to rub in

phir bhar raha hun khama-e-mizhgan ba-khun-e-dil
saz-e-chaman taraazi-e-daman kiye hue

the quill of my eyelashes i, dip in my blood anew
for to decorate my vest in the flower's form and hue

baham-digar hue hain dil o dida phir raqib
nazzara o khayal ka saman kiye hue

my heart and my eyes are now adversaries again
one seeks to think of her, the other for her sight to gain

dil phir tawaf-e-ku-e-malamat ko jae hai
pindar ka sanam-kada viran kiye hue

my heart repeatedly repairs to those avenues
where i will lose all self respect, be subject to abuse

phir shauq kar raha hai kharidar ki talab
arz-e-mata-e-aql-o-dil-o-jaan kiye hue

love once again is eager for a customer to find
offering up all the wealth of heart, life and mind

daude hai phir har ek gul-o-lala par khayal
sad-gulsitan nigah ka saman kiye hue

my thoughts do flit at every beauty, tulip be or rose
a hundred gardens in my eyes, find easy repose

phir chahta hun nama-e-dildar kholna
jaan nazr-e-dil-farebi-e-unwan kiye hue

again i'd like to unseal the missive from my lover
my life's forfeit, at the alluring, title on the cover

mange hai phir kisi ko lab-e-baam par hawas
zulf-e-siyah rukh pe pareshan kiye hue

desire seeks that someone to, out on the terrace be
her tresses dark, strewn across her face seductively

chahe hai phir kisi ko muqabil mein aarzu
surme se tez dashna-e-mizhgan kiye hue

wishes want that someone to, be face to face with me
the daggers of her lashes honed, by kohl's ebony

ek nau-bahaar-e-naz ko take hai phir nigah
chehra farogh-e-mai se gulistan kiye hue

for a youthful beauty 'gain thirst these eyes of mine
her face being all ablossom then with the glow of wine

phir ji mein hai ki dar pe kisi ke pade rahen
sar zer-bar-e-minnat-e-darban kiye hue

i feel like standing once again at somebody's gate
pleading with her sentinel with my head oblate

ji dhundta hai phir wahi fursat ki raat din
baithe rahen tasawwur-e-jaanan kiye hue

again this heart seeks those days of leisure as of yore
sitting just enmeshed in thoughts of my paramour

'ghaalib' hamein na chhed ki phir josh-e-ashk se
baithe hain hum tahayya-e-tufan kiye hue

trouble, tease me not for i, with the ardour of my tears
await determined to unleash a storm beyond all fears