kaasid ake aate aate khat ek aur likh rakhu
main janata hu jo wo likhenge jawaab me
kab se hu kya bataau ajahaan-e-kharaab me
shab haaye hijra ko bhi rakhun gar hisaab me

mujh tak kab unki bajma me aata tha daur-e-jaam
saaki ne kuchh mila na diya ho sharab me
ta-fir na intajaara me nind aaye umr bhar
aane ka ahad kar gaye aaye jo khwaab me

gaalib chhuti asharaab par ab bhi kabhi kabhi
pita hu roj-e-abr-o-shab-e-maahataab me

As the messenger nears, a fresh plea I pen,
For I know the words they'll send back again.
What I've been, in this world, this ruin I roam,
How to count the nights, when I'm so far from home?

The cup of joy, in their circle, it never did reach,
Did the wine-pourer mix something sweet, beyond speech?
So I won't spend my life in a slumber of wait,
Promising their return, in dreams, sealed by fate.

Ghalib has left the wine, yet still I crave,
A taste on cloudy days, and nights the moon gave.