When you will leave me alone!

It’s 4 am,
Night dresses for the morning,
Undressing the night,
I see none, but one,
Drunk as I am, not of wine,
But your presence,
You rest on the sofa,
Your blue eyes asking for the rest,
I get tired,
I see your clothes, not you,
Your eyes, not myself.

I start searching you,
I find you hiding between the lines of a story,
A story with no glory,
Or a poem written with craze,
Or music composed with passion,
You look into my eyes,
You see yourself in my eyes,
Tired eyes,
Eyes that carry the agony of a generation,
Yet love for you is always there.

You start trembling in the chill of love,
I dress you in the cloak of my love,
The love of a Pashtun,
The spirit of a Pashtun,
I Guard you from the bitter cold of the day- forecasted,
And evil eyes of the ill- wishers,
I extinguish your sorrows with the warmth of my heart.

But my sweetheart!
My sweetheart!
When you will leave me alone in a while,
I will have nothing left of you,
Only myself,
And my tears,
And your memories,
The tears that you resent,
The tears which have made you immortal
And extinguished me.


(Farid Gul, London, April 9, 2009)