Love
I care not if no rest nor peace remain
Translated by Inayat Khan and Jessie Duncan Westbrook (1919) · From Hindustani Lyrics (1919)
I care not if no rest nor peace remain,
I have my cherished pain,
I have my rankling love that knows no end,
And need no other friend.
I yearned with all my heart to hold her fast,
She laughed, and fled, and passed!
Lakhs of enchantments, scores of spells I wove,
But useless was my love.
I would have given my life to make her stay,
She went away, away, she went away.
Though I effaced myself in deed and thought
And brought myself to naught,
The dark and sundering curtain hangs between
I cannot pierce the screen.
And still I know behind the veil she hides,
And naught besides
In all this changing Universe abides!
Cite this poem
MLA
Zafar, Bahadur Shah. “I care not if no rest nor peace remain.” Translated by Inayat Khan and Jessie Duncan Westbrook. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/bahadur-shah-zafar/2/.
Chicago
Zafar, Bahadur Shah. “I care not if no rest nor peace remain.” Translated by Inayat Khan and Jessie Duncan Westbrook. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/bahadur-shah-zafar/2/.
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