Ranjha

Ranjha Ranjha kerdi ni main apey Ranjha hoyi,

Ranjha Ranjha saddo ni menu heer na aakho koi

[Repeating the name of Ranjha, I have become Ranjha myself.

O call me ye all Ranjha, let no one call me Heer]

As I hear these melodious words fill the air around me, my heart yearns for his. With my eyes closed, I hum along while my exhausted head starts to sketch him in the darkness of the night.

My heart then desires for him to listen to me sing this melody, but more than that, I am tempted to explain it to him. To explain the essence of each phrase, of each feeling that resonates in Bulleh Shah's poetry and consequently my own affection. But I have learned to control this temptation, just as I have learned to not speak of many things I wish to speak of and to share with him my truest emotions.

I know that singing these words by my bedside and feeling the love I feel, will not bring him any closer to me. Yet, I fill the air with these words.

Jal ja, jal ja Ishq mein jal ja, jale se kundan ho

Jalti raakh laga le maathey, lagey to chundan hoye

[Burn, burn, burn in the fire of passion, for its only when you burn that you turn to gold.

Rub the ashes on your forehead, so you may find some peace]

Sulagtey koyle, re koyle, ab bujhna mushkil hai...

[These burning coals - my heart, continues to burn]