Ode to Kashmir

Those beautiful valleys,
that wide and breathing sky,
those murmuring waterfalls,
forever in motion,
the shade of ancient chinars,
branches bent with apples,
beds of glowing saffron.
Why were those snow crowned peaks
left behind by us?
Those beautiful valleys,
that open sky,
why did they slip from our lives?
Here we burn in distance and longing,
there what was our fault?
Tell us once,
only once,
tell us.

Dal and Char, those quiet lakes,
the vision of Char Chinar,
Nishat Bagh and Shalimar,
every village, every path.
They still search for us,
but where will they find us now?
Those beautiful valleys,
those frozen heights,
why did we walk away from you?
Where have we come,
my beloved?
Like leaves shaken loose
in a furious storm,
we scattered everywhere,
not knowing where we would land.
Our own no longer felt like our own,
what has happened to us?
We lost our familiar homes,
the nests we built with love.
Why such a punishment,
tell me, my God?

We have not forgotten you,
dear homeland,
even in separation.
Between the chinars
the sun once rose in play,
laughing softly.
By the rivers,
temple bells rang,
icy branches shivered and swayed.
Roads lay wrapped in snow,
moonlight spilled its joy,
brushing white snow from white hair,
cold quiet sobs in the night.
We have never forgotten you,
not even for a moment,
yet where will we find you now?
That open sky,
those beautiful valleys,
why did we leave you behind?
Where have we come,
burning in this distance,
  my beloved,
  my beloved?