There was a time when I loved alone
Without dream or friend
There was a time when your love was untrue
When I endured such torment that
I don't remember anything now but
There was a river ... or a villa ...
You confused my heart so much
That love shrank to a riddle
Yet had I been the slightest bit disloyal
You would almost have taken my life
Time is like the snakes
Devouring jasmine in my courtyard
Who can I tell, this sad evening
How bright the line of fate once was on my hand?
[Translated by Nukhbah Langah and Lavinia Greenlaw]
Noshi Gilani
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/there-was-a-time-when-i-loved-alone/