(Bal-e-Jibril-176) Shaheen

Shaheen
The Eagle

Kiya Mein Ne Uss Khakdan Se Kinara
Jahan Rizq Kanaam Hai Aab-o-Dana

I have turned away from that place on earth
Where sustenance takes the form of grain and water.

Bayaban Ki Khalwat Khush Ati Hai Mujh Ko
Azal Se Hai Fitrat Meri Rahbana

The solitude of the wilderness pleases me—
By nature I was always a hermit—

Na Bad-e-Bahari, Na Gulcheen, Na Bulbul
Na Beemari-e-Naghma-e-Ashiqana

No spring breeze, no one plucking roses, no nightingale,
And no sickness of the songs of love!

Khayabanion Se Hai Parhaiz Lazim
Adaen Hain In Ki Bohat Dilbarana

One must shun the garden‐dwellers—
They have such seductive charms!

Hawa-e-Bayaban Se Hoti Hai Kari
Jawan Mard Ki Zarbat-e-Ghaziyana

The wind of the desert is what gives
The stroke of the brave youth fighting in battle its effect.

Hamam-o-Kabootar Ka Bhooka Nahin Main
Ke Hai Zindagi Baaz Ki Zahidana

I am not hungry for pigeon or dove—
For renunciation is the mark of an eagle’s life.

Jhapatna, Palatna, Palat Kar Jhapatna
Lahoo Garam Rakhne Ka Hai Ek Bahana

To swoop, withdraw and swoop again
Is only a pretext to keep up the heat of the blood.

Ye Poorab, Ye Pacham Chakoron Ki Dunya
Mera Neelgun Asman Baikarana

East and West ‐these belong to the world of the pheasant,
The blue sky—vast, boundless—is mine!

Prindon Ki Dunya Ka Dervaish Hun Mein
Ke Shaheen Banata Nahin Ashiyana

I am the dervish of the kingdom of birds—
The eagle does not make nests