May I Lament Thy Absence by Jaun Elia

This translation of Jaun Elia’s hauntingly evocative Urdu poem, "Tumhara Hijr Mana Loon Agar Ijazat Ho," echoes with the agonizing weight of loss and longing. The speaker, consumed by the absence of their beloved, seeks permission to indulge in sorrow, to dwell in the dark recesses of grief where shattered promises and memories linger like faint shadows. The poem draws upon the profound emotions of isolation and despair, threading a delicate line between sanity and madness, as the speaker’s soul spirals deeper into melancholic reflection. Through vivid imagery, the speaker envisions their nights lost in solitude, the flickering of hope reduced to but a faint ember, while the city around them remains unfamiliar and strange. The poem touches upon universal themes of heartbreak, existential yearning, and the silent ache that often accompanies unhealed wounds. It paints a portrait of a soul trapped between the torment of remembrance and the desperate desire to hold on …