A Wounded Cat in a Sack - Translation of Saqi Farooqi Poem by Hifzul Kabir Qureshi

Jan Mohamed Khan
The going is not easy
In this gunny sack
Itís suffocating.
Firm jute strands pierce the heart;
And in the yellow bowls of eyes
Moon coins cling
Night creeps through the body

Today
Who would strike a fire
On your bare back?
Who would fan the embers?
Who would blossom the bloody flowers of struggle?

I have no strength in my fire scratching claws
Today, the going is not easy.
Soon
This path will break and fall into a dirty pond.
I will go to sleep
Holding the solitude of my coffin
Becoming one with water.
You alone must keep on going
In a deep sleep must keep on...
You cannot recognize though
The empty invisible sack you are in.
Jan Mohamed Khan
The going is not easy.