Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. This is an excellent example of how in urdu, metaphors are used for beauty and subtlety or to escape the wrath of the censor. Here naatiq is writing as a poet, a lover or a revolutionary, admittedly in a rather difficult analogy. In each case his journey is towards speech/suKhan that speaks truth to power, or towards the beloved or social justice, democratic rule. The ‘we’ and ‘us’ are poets, lovers or comrades. He could be writing about the collusion between US forces and pervez musharraf and military dictatorships past and present (at the time of writing).

uTheNge maut se pahle usi safar¹ ke liye
jise hayaat² ke sadmauN³ ne multavi⁴ na kiya
vo hum ke phool ki lau⁵ ko fareb⁶ dete the
qarib⁷-e shaam sitaarauN ki rahguzar⁸ pe chale  1.journey, mission 2.life 3.tragedies, calamities 4.postpone 5.flame, desire 6.deception 7.near 8.pathway
Before we die we surely will rise and undertake the journey which even life’s many tragedies have not let us forget. We are those who could deceive (ignore) the flame (desire) of the rose (other temptations). We, who could walk along the path of the constellations in the evening (the high road of truthfulness). We are not willing to give up on their journey/mission.

vo hum ke taaza¹ jahaaN² ke naqeeb-zan³ the naye
saba⁴ ki chaal se aage hamaari chaal rahi
magar gumaan⁵ ke qadmauN ne us ko tai⁶ na kiya
vahi safar jo hamaare aur us ke biich raha
jise hayaat ke sadmauN ne multavi na kiya  1.fresh, new 2.world, just/socialist world order 3.herald 4.morning breeze 5.doubt, uncertainty 6.traverse
It is we who are the heralds of the new world order in this generation. We walk ahead of the morning breeze (which is the usual herald of dawn). But uncertainty and fear did not let us traverse the path between us and her, the path which even life’s tragedies did not let us forget. ‘Her’ could be the beloved, social justice or freedom to speak (naatiq was born in 1976 and this could easily have been written in the era (1999-2008) of pervez musharraff and his collusion with US forces as well as about past military dictatorships).

uTha ke haath meN neze¹ pila ke aab²-e saraab³
kamin-gaah⁴-e havas⁵ se nishaane⁶ dil ke liye
tamaam samt⁷ se aai shahaabiyauN⁸ ki sipaah⁹
hamaari zaat ko ghera¹⁰ misaal¹¹-e lashkar¹²-e shaam¹³   1.spears 2.water 3.mirage, illusion 4.hideout for ambush 5.greed 6.aim, target 7.direction 8.comets, possibly drone attacks 9.army, swarm 10.surrounded, encircled 11.like, similar to 11.army 12.Levant, Syria … this has reference to the army of yazid which surrounded husain and his followers in karbala. It is used as a metaphor for injustice, oppression and cruelty.
They (the people in power) picked up spears to attack us while showing us the illusionary promised land with false promises like showing water/mirage to a desert traveler. From all directions came swarms of comets (drone attacks) surrounding us like the army of yazid.

hazaar baar ulajh¹ ke phaTa libaas²-e yaqiN³
magar Tali⁴ na kabhi us mubaahise⁵ se zabaaN
jo sakinaan⁶-e zamiN aur hamaare biich hua  1.entangled 2.dress, robe 3.trust 4.postponed, pass 5.discussion, conversation 6.dwellers of the homeland
A thousand times the robe of trust got entangled and was torn. But the discussion between us (poets) and the dwellers of the homeland never stopped. (We continued to speak for/about them).

rah¹-e vaqaar² pe baiThe the aaine³ le kar
jinheN sabaat⁴ pe koi bhi iKhtiyaar⁵ na tha
thama⁶ ke haath meN Gham ke buraaq⁷-e dil ki inaaN⁸
nikal gaye na ruke rooh⁹ ki hadauN¹⁰ se idhar
falak¹¹ ke kohna¹² dareeche¹³ salaam karte rahe  1.pathway 2.glory/power 3.mirrors/illusion (like in smoke and mirrors) 4.truth 5.authority, control 6.hand over 7.fictional horse that can fly 8.reins 9.spirituality, soul 10.limits 11.sky, heavens 12.ancient, old 13.windows
They sat on the pathway of glory/power making false promises like showing illusions/reflections in a mirror. They had no control over truth (they spoke what their master told them to speak i.e. they were in control of the US). They ran away, handing us the reins of the imaginary horse of desire that would fly us to sorrow. They did not stay within the bounds of truthfulness even as the same old windows of heaven/power/wealth beckoned them.

magar charaaGh ka saaya¹ abhi vajud² meN hai
zaroor apne hisaarauN³ meN lega noor⁴-e dimaaGh
sahar⁵ ke vaqt baRhega Ghunoodagi⁶ ka asar⁷
daraaz⁸ hoga vahiN dard ke shabaab⁹ ka qad¹⁰
mila Ghubaar¹¹ ki soorat¹² jahaaN naseeb¹³ ka phal  1.shadow, darkness as in ‘charaaGh taley andhera’ – darkness under the lamp 2.existence 3.boundaries, fence 4.light 5.dawn 6.drowsiness 7.effect 8.increase 9.vigour 10.height, extent 11.fog, illusion 12.like, similar to 13.fate
But there is still darkness under the lamp. And this darkness will engulf the light of reason. And at dawn, instead of waking up, the effect of drowsiness will take hold and the strength/power of our pain will increase. That is where we received the promise of our fate as if it were a fog/illusion.

jahaaN shikaar¹ hua hai meri zabaaN ka hunar²
vahin se DhoonD ke laeNge aadmi ki Khabar³
uTheNge maut se pahle usi safar ke liye  1.prey, hunt 2.talent, skill 3.news
Where the talent/skill/power of my tongue/words/suKhan/poetry was hunted down, there we will search for news of humanity. We will rise and undertake that journey before we die.