The drop dies in the river
by Mirza GhalibEnglish version by W. S. Merwin and Aijaz Ahmad
Original Language Urdu
The drop dies in the river
of its joy
pain goes so far it cures itself
in the spring after the heavy rain the cloud
disappears
that was nothing but tears
in the spring the mirror turns green
holding a miracle
Change the shining wind
the rose led us to our eyes
let whatever is be open
-- from East Window: Poems from Asia, Translated by W. S. Merwin |
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/ Image by Peter Heilmann /
View All Poems by Mirza Ghalib
I love every line of this poem, but the line I keep rereading is--
the rose led us to our eyes
The rose is both that which is beautiful in nature, but in Sufi poetry it is also a symbol for the Beloved, the Heart of hearts, God. Truly seeing Beauty, we witness ourselves seeing... and only then do we come to witness ourselves. The rose is not merely beautiful; it tells us of the beauty we are in ourselves. And then we bloom!
let whatever is be open
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