This poem was written by Sultan Bahadur Zafar Shah II of The mughul empire..after he was ousted by the British Imperialist army.The Sultan spent his last days in Exile in Burma.
see more pictures on Sultan Bahadur here.






Lagta nahin jee mera, ujre dayar mein

Kis ki bani hai, aalam-e-napaiydaar mein




Bulbul ko paasbaan se na sayyad se gila

Qismat mein qaid thi likhi, fasl-e-bahar mein



Keh do in hasraton se kahin aur ja basein

Itni jagah kahan hai, dil-e-daaghdaar mein



Ek shaakh-e-gul pe beith ke bulbul hain shaadmaan


Kaante bicha diye hain, dil-e-lalahzaar mein



Umr-e-daraaz maang ke laaye the char din

Do aarzu mein kat gaye, do intezar mein



Din zindegi ke khatam hue, shaam hogayi

Phaila ke paaon soyenge, kunj-e-mazar mein




Kitna hai badnaseeb zafar, dafan ke liye

Do gaz zameen bhi mil na saki, ku-e-yaar mein



My heart is not happy in this ruined land

Who has ever found fulfillment in this transient world?




The nightingale has no complaint against the guard or the hunter

It was in her fate to remain caged during the spring



Tell these desires to go settle elsewhere

Where is there enough room for them in my wounded heart?




The joyous nightingales sit on a flower covered bough

But thorns have been scattered throughout the flower gardens of my heart



I asked for a long life, and was given but four days

Two were wasted in desire, two in waiting



The days of my life come to a close, dusk approaches


I shall spread my feet in slumber, in a corner of my tomb



How ill fated is Zafar, for his burial place

He couldn’t find two yards of space, in the lane of his beloved

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