Ayaz Gul is one of the leading contemporary Sindhi poets of the country. He has published seven collections of poetry, including the critically acclaimed Dukh Ji Na Pujani Aa (1987) and Deenh Dithey Ja Sapna (1984). He is currently chairman of the Sindhi Department, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur. Gul’s poetry is marked by an insightful sense of the present and its inalienable association with the past. ‘Maslahat-i-Khudawandi’ is one of his most oft-discussed poems.
The Divine Discretion
They sayThe walls have ears.Better that they do not keep a tongue!Else so many secrets would be openAnd so many stories would pierceThe darkness and be commonThe masks of nobility would come offAnd how utterly irksomeFaces would appear.
Many a man measured in goldWould prove to be fakeAnd dreams would weepAt their interpretation.With the dispersal of beliefsAll beautiful thoughtsWould sip poisonRuins would rein inYes, ruins would rein in
Better it isThose walls don’t keep a tongue.
Translated by Latif Noonari
Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, June 3rd, 2018