sham hi se thi faza mein kisi jalte hue kapDe ki bisand
aur hawa chalti thi jaise
us ke zaKHmi hon qadam
dida-e-mahr ne anjaane KHatar se muD kar
jate jate baDi hasrat se kai bar zamin ko dekha
lekin is sabz lakir
is daraKHton ki hari baD ke par
kuchh na paya koi shoala na sharar
aur phir raat ke tannur se ubla pani
tirgiyyon ka siyah fawwara
dekhte dekhte taswir har ek chiz ki dhundlane lagi
dur tak kale samundar ki humakti lahren
hanpte sinon ki manind karan-ta-karan phail gain
aur jab raat paDi
siskiyan ban gain jhonkon ki sada
dam-ba-KHud ho gae us waqt dar-o-baam
jaise aahaT kisi tufan ki suna chahte hon
aanhken mal mal ke charaghon ki lawon ne dekha
lekin is sabz lakir
is daraKHton ki hari baD ke par
kuchh na paya koi shoala na sharar
raat ke pichhle pahar
na-gahan nind se chaunki jo zamin
is ke honTon pe thi ghamnak karah
karb-angez karah
us ke sine pe rawan
boot lohe ke gumakte hue boot
jis tarah kanch ki chadar pe luDhakti hui patthar ki silen
har qadam ek nai chiKH janam leti thi
KHak se dad-e-sitam leti thi
Nazm
Raat ke pichhle pahar
Shakeb Jalali