Hum Jo Tareek Raahon Mein Maare Gaye

Tere honton ke phoolon ke chahat mein hum

Daar ki khushk tehni pe waare gaye

Tere haaton ki sham’on ki hasrat mein hum

Neem tareek raahon mein maare gaye

… Qatl-gaahon se chun kar humara alam

Aur nikleinge ushaaq ke qaafle

Jin ke raah-e-talab se humare qadam

Mukhtasar kar chale dard ke faasle

Kar chale jin ki khaatir jahan geer hum

Jaan gunwa kar teri dilbari ka bharam

Hum jo tareek raahon mein maare gaye

- Faiz Ahmed Faiz -

There are days when something in another’s world, in another’s life takes you back to a past you thought you had left behind only to realize the memory of it is still there, stronger than perhaps the reality.  Just the thought that you had been there makes all the old hurts and all the fear fester and bleed, surrounding you in dark, cloying darkness that makes it so hard to breathe…