Ek Tabassum by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Malihabadi"> Josh Malihabadi </a> <br><br>

Gunche teri zindagi pe dil hilta hai <br>
sirf ek tabassum ke liye khilta hai. <br>
Gunche ne kaha ki, Is chaman mein Baba <br>
ye ek tabassum bhi kise milta hai. <br> <br>

Translation*: <br> <br>

Oh flower bud, your life, your very being saddens me <br>

For, you bloom long enough for just one smile <br>  <!-- just once in your lifetime <br>-->

The flower bud responded: In this world of ours <br>

How many are even that fortunate? <br> <br>


* My own attempt at a translation. It is nearly impossible to capture the poetry of this
in translation and I certainly did not want to do a literal translation. (Poetry is what gets lost in translation. -- Robert Frost)
<br> <br>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Malihabadi"> Josh
 Malihabadi </a> was a Pakistani/Indian poet. I first heard this poem
 in an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3twAAtmTWug#t=00m53s">
 offbeat documentary </a> about my favorite musician, Ustad Amir Khan.
<br><br>

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