Karachi Poem by Muhammad Shanazar

Karachi contained in its existence,
The dance of deer, on each moment,
And on each moment the peacocks
Of life used to skip.
In the lawns and lanes hustle bustle glowed
Like the eyes of doe deer and each day
Karachi breathed in the affairs of love,
Evenings of the days had miracles of the wishes,
And silvery moonlit nights had
The secrets of intimacies.

Each morning was radiant
With the luminosity of the scriptures;
Height of its truthfulness
Spoke like pinnacles of the Mount Sinai.
It streets were peopled with the world of lights,
And all sects of life
Shared pain and pleasures with each other.
The hands of my lunacy have ravaged
The love-packed city of brotherhood
Made it deserted, in such a way,
As Karachi looks
At me with regretful plaintive eyes,
And then sinks down into bewilderment.

Written by Ronaq Hayat
Translated by Muhammad Shanazar