The First Greeting

A playful hesitation, an innocent message

Such, Kaifi, was that certain someone’s first greeting

The flowers on her cheeks were drenched

As her hand rose and her steps faltered

A colour began to spill from her body

As the veil began to slip from her head

The sense of unfamiliarity became a stranger

As the heart beat amidst rising waves

The breath tied itself in rose-hued knots

Lips trembled, grew still, the gaze held steadfast

This misgiving I will carry all my life

Why did my response lack poise

Flustered, why did I suddenly, thoughtlessly, needlessly

Begin to look in the other direction

Aaina

Aaina torh diya, torh diya, torh diya

Shakl eik baar zara dekh to lo

Dekho, ab kaisi nazar aati ho

Phir wahi ankhon mein rang aata hai

Ya jhijhal jaati hai, dar jaata hai

Isi aaine mein dekha thha woh husn

Jiska dushwaar yaquin hota hai

Aur poochha thha bade naaz ke saath

Koi itna bhi hasiin hota hai

Isme aaine ki khuubi to nahin

Husn hab thha to nazar aaya thha

Paa chuki thhi tumhe duniya lekin

Tumne apne ko kahaan paya thha

Aur jab apne ko paaya tumne

Jaane aaine ko kyon torh diya

Haadsa yeh bhi nahi hai lekin

Dekhna apne ko kya chhorh diya

Shakl eik baar zara dekh to lo

Dekho, ab kaisi nazar aati ho

Mirror

You have broken the mirror, smashed it, shattered it!

See your face but once

See how you look now

Does that same colour seep into your eyes

Or do you turn bashful, and get scared

I had seen a beauty in this very mirror

One that is hard to believe

And had asked with great pride:

Can anyone be so beautiful?

There was nothing special about the mirror

It was the beauty that made it so

The world had discovered you even though

You were yet to find yourself

And when you finally found yourself

Who knows why you broke the mirror

That in itself was not such a calamity

But that you stopped looking at yourself

See your face, but once

See, how you look now

Akhfa-i Muhabbat