The Past and The Future

The tired answers
To well-worn questions

Some misdirected efforts
A few forgotten equations

Those masks on faces
Those veils on intentions

And, somewhere far away
As though in another universe
The smoke that rises

From the smouldering embers
Of the corpses of uprooted dreams

Wrings drops of moisture
From these blood-shot eyes
So that people think
I am once again immersed
In the pain of the past

But, in this half-extinguished heart
A self-effacing dream still hides
The hope that she would sweep veil-less
Into this chamber of loneliness still abides
Covered by clouds, perhaps
But, in the sky a glorious moon still resides

The Heart Must Have Ached

When blew the cold wind of the evening of separation, the heart must have ached
When blossomed the morning in the chamber of loneliness, the heart must have ached

Words of falsehood sound sweet behind closed doors alone
When someone denied her love in the square, the heart must have ached

I, too was in your presence, although ever ignored
But, when that empty space let out a sigh, the heart must have ached

Come, let us meet again as if we were never intimate
Although, when memories of that closeness prevailed, the heart must have ached

Fame went, riches went – they were not your treasure
But, the day honour was sold Sifar, the heart must have ached

Had Been

A dusty wind had raged, a storm, too had been
A gaze had lifted, a death there had been

Why, walking the street, should one curse me?
Am I the only idiot that in this world has been?

And how do i tell you now, the magic of that blossoming beauty?
Enough to say that I, young just that day had been

Yesterday, in the river, I caught a glimpse of myself
As though, in that timeless flow, immersed I, too had been

My funeral procession Sifar, moved with such a jaunt
We hear the slayer herself despondent has been

Maazi-o-farda

Thake hue sawaalon
Ke uktaae hue jawaab
Kuchh bhatke hue iraade
Chand bhoole hue hisaab
Woh chaihron ke pairaahan
Woh dilon par dhake nakaab

Awr kahin door
Jaise kisi awr duniya mein
Ujde hue khwaabon
Ki sulagti laashon
Se uthta hua dhooaan

Jab in surkh aankhon se
Nami nichod jaata hai
Toh log sochte hain
Ke main phir gham-e-maazi
Mein dooba hoon

Magar is dil-e-bismil mein
Ek saihma hua sa khwaab ab bhi hai
Ye umeed ke woh aa jaaye
Is hujra-e-tanhai mein be-hijaab ab bhi hai
Abr se dhaka hi sahi
Falak mein maihtaab ab bhi hai

Dil Toh Dukha Hoga

Chali jab sard hawa-e-shab-e-hijr, dil toh dukha hoga
Maihki jab sahar hujra-e-tanhaai mein, dil toh dukha hoga

Harf-e-jhoot toh band kamron hi mein achhe lagte hain
Kiya jab kisi ne sar-e-baazaar inkaar-e-ishq, dil toh dukha hoga

Ham bhi bhi the teri bazm mein, go nazar-andaaz
Aah jab nikli us khaali jagah se, dil toh dukha hoga

Chalo, phir yun milein jaise ham kabhi aashna na the
Magar jab aayee hogi yaad us aashnaai ki, dil toh dukha hoga

Shauhrat gayi, daulat gayi, kaunsi apni sarmaaya thi?
Bika tha magar Sifar jis roz imaan, dil toh dukha hoga

Hua Tha

Aandhi si chali thi, toofaan sa hua tha
Ek nazar uthi si thi, qatl-e-jaan sa hua tha

Kyon raah chalte koi, kare apni buraayi?
Kya is duniya mein main hi, naadaan sa hua tha?

Ab kya kahein tumse, us nau-shabaab ke jalwe
Bas aise ke main us roz hi, jawaan sa hua tha

Kal darya ki maujon mein, kuchh apni si jhalak thi
Us raftaar-e-haq mein main bhi, qurbaan sa hua tha

Yun jhoom ke nikla Sifar, kuchh apna janaaza
Sunte hain ke khud qaatil bhi, pareshaan sa hua tha