socho k hum ek jail main hain
takreeban 50 saal k hain
aur 18 saal aur bachay hain
jab lohay k darwaazay khulain gay.
fir bhi hum zinda rehatay hai
bahar ki har cheez hamaray saath rehti hai -
sun log-baag, sub jaanwar, unki sub kash-makash, aur hawaa -
mera maksad hai duniya ka in dewaaron k bahar.
man kehtahoon k hum aisay bhi hon jahaan bhi hon
hamain aisa zinda rehna chahiyay k
maut say hamesha door hain
-tr. Ravi Kopra
from the following English version:
Let’s say we’re in prison
and close to fifty,
and have eighteen more years, say,
before the iron gates will open.
We’ll still live with the outside,
with its people and animals, struggle and wind -
I mean with the outside beyond the walls.
I mean, however and wherever we are,
we must live as if we will never die.
- Nazim Hikmet, " On Living"
The original is in Turkish