My Journey; I Want To Tell Her... (Translation) Poem by Usman Hanif

My existence, my miseries, my tattered clothes
I’ve come across the labyrinth of life
I stop for a split-second
With my eyes over my heartache, I witness
My love, the symbol of perfection, that face so lovely
That face…
Despite the immortal moments of the universe, That face charms me...
Like the day of judgment to me
I witness…
I witness the insignia of faith, of beauty, of some prayer
The symbol of some journey, the life of fragrant beauty
The symbol of life… of unforgettable breaths
Like the spring sprouting all around, like illusion…
She calls me… to embrace me, she is calling me…

My existence, my miseries, my tattered clothes
I’ve come across the labyrinth of life
I’ve stopped!
I think…
I think, why not place my miseries on her sublime hands…
Why not throw the burden off my head
Why not end the entangled story
Why not relate her my pain
My pain… my pain which she had abandoned in the past
I am in the city of sorrow
The city with the inhabitants of the roofless houses, the poor faces
I am the refuge to this city…

I should tell her…
I should tell her… that I am the same old admirer of her presence
But in the travelogue of my journey of love
Perhaps she has abandoned me on the capricious paths
Or perhaps me: myself, or perhaps you or someone else…
Whoever it is… has taken me on the ways…
On the ways…
On the ways of the pain… where the pain is my cherished pleasure…
Like exceptional treasure… but not to me…
But not to me, but it’s true that all pleasure is mine…

I want to tell her…
Tell her about the whining, crying hungry, clothe-less children in the streets
The children without contentment, the children without ecstasy
The children distressed with the scars of misery…
Their life on the pavements, since their birth
Eating dirt, to kill their hunger…
Spending their lives roofless, for the sake of a few coppers
With confronting all the miseries, they still expect contentment…
Only contentment... not the joy, not the exhilaration
And now they all are my travel-mates…

I want to tell her…
Tell her… that they all are my heart’s desires
They are the consolation to my sad moments
You… you’re my way, but they are my ambition

I want to tell her
My existence, my miseries, my tattered clothes
I’ve come across the labyrinth of life
I stop for a split-second...

I want to tell her…