As he left, he broke off every tie;
we were close enough, at least, for him to come and go.
Note
The refrain (radif) of this ghazal is जाते, “going”, which ends the second line of every couplet. मरासिम are the ordinary ties between acquaintances; the speaker would have settled for that much.
Better than complaining that the night is dark
to light a candle of your own along the way.
Note
शिकवा-ए-ज़ुल्मत-ए-शब chains two Persian izafat links: शिकवा (complaint) of ज़ुल्मत (darkness) of शब (night). The apostrophe in शम्अ' marks the Arabic letter ain. The couplet is widely quoted on its own as advice to act instead of complaining.
Dying of your absence should have been easy, love;
still, it took a lifetime to be done with living.
Note
जान से जाना, “to go from life”, is an idiom for dying. With the refrain it reads as a slow departure: it took a lifetime, going out of life.
No one held a feast at the killing ground, or I too
would have gone there dancing and singing, chains and all.
Note
मक़्तल is the place where people are put to death. The lover going gladly to his execution is an old image in the Urdu ghazal. पा-ब-जौलाँ, “feet in fetters”, is a Persian phrase.
Whether he cared to keep faith is his affair;
you, Faraz, could at least have kept it on your side.
Note
In the last couplet (maqta) the poet names himself by his pen name, Faraz, and addresses himself.