Habib Jalib was born in 1928 in Hoshiarpur, East Punjab. He migrated to Pakistan after partition and worked as a proof reader in Daily Imroze, Karachi. Read further about him: https://www.letsstartthinking.org/Pakistan/personalities/habib-jalib.php. All his poetry is available via Rekhta. Below is the poem Bagiya Lahoo Luhan-The Garden Is A Bloody Mess. The poem is about the oppression in East Pakistan in 1971 but unfortunately it continues to resonate, even today.
Bagiya Lahoo Luhan Haryali ko aankhen tarsen bagiya lahoo luhan Pyar ke geet sunaoon kis ko shehar hue weeran Bagiya lahoo luhan Dasti hain suraj ki kirnen chand jalaye jaan Pag pag maut ke gehre saye jeewan maut saman Charon ore hawa phirti hai le kar teer Kaman Bagiya lahoo luhan Chhalni hain kaliyon ke seeney khoon mein lat paat Aur nahjaney kab tak hogi ashkon ki barsaat Dunya walon kab beeteinge dukh ke yeh din raat Khoon se holi khel rahe hain dharti ke balwan Bagiya lahoo luhan
The Garden Is A Bloody Mess Our eyes yearn for greenery The garden is a bloody mess For whom should I sing my songs of love The cities are all a wilderness The garden is a bloody mess The rays of the sun, they sting Moonbeams are a killing field, no less Deep shadows of death hover at every step Life wears a skull and bone dress All around the air is on prowl With bows and arrows, in full harness The garden is a bloody mess The battered buds are like a sieve The leaves drenched in blood smears Who knows, for how long We’ll have this rain of tears People how long do we have to bear These days and nights of sorrow and distress This oppressor’s blood bath is a frolicsome play For the mighty of the world, a mark of their prowess The garden is a bloody mess Source: Revolutionary Democracy
BAGICHA 