O golden oriole, winter's gone, <br />Gay spring has come again ! <br />Step out and feast your weary eyes <br />On the myraid flowers abloom. <br /> <br />Born in a cage where the candle <br />Of your life has guttered low, <br />Shed your fear, and spreading wings, <br />Learn flight in God's free air. <br /> <br />Flowering plants have spread their arms; <br />Perch on the bough your fancy takes; <br />But with an alien as your gardener, <br />This freedom won't remain. <br />Know how precious midsummer is; <br />Don't let your youth run waste ! <br />Pour the wine of universal love, <br />For all men are friends, not foes. <br /> <br />Goodness does not discriminate <br />Between the high and the low; <br />There's no greatness in lavishing bounty <br />On one's own kin alone. <br /> <br />Strength lies not in severe reprisals <br />Nor in cruel revenge; <br />You can win over bitterest foes <br />With the force of love alone. <br /> <br />Hawks have left your garden, <br />And birds are all in song - <br />But if you yourself turn a hawk, <br />How futile was this change ! <br /> <br />Naive indeed is your faith to see <br />As saviours and redeemers <br />Interloping birds that burn <br />With envy of your lot. <br /> <br />The earthworm knows how the hoopoe bites - <br />Not others unaffected - <br />This grand high-turbaned bird who has <br />A retinue of hawks and crows. <br /> <br />The Wular Lake is still in flood, <br />The North Wind howling strong; <br />The shore is far away, and you <br />Must steer your course with care. <br /> <br />Mahjoor has always sung love songs <br />In freedom in his garden. <br />'This is no way', the new bulbuls say, <br />'He must enter a cage !' <br /> <br />[Translated by: Triloki Nath Raina]<br /><br />Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/o-golden-oriole/
