If you look at the city from here

Yahaan sey sheher ko dekho (from prison)

If you look at the city from here
you see it laid out in concentric circles
each circle surrounded by a wall
exactly like a prison
Each street is a dog-run for prisoners
No milestones, no destinations, no way out.

If anyone moves too quickly you wonder
why he hasn't been stopped by a shout.
If someone raises his arm
you expect to hear the jangling of chains.

If you look at the city from here
there is no one with dignity,
no one fully in control of his senses
Every young man bears the brand of a criminal,
every young woman the emblem of a slave.

You cannot tell whether you see
a group of revelers or mourners
in the shadows dancing around the distant lamps,
and from here you cannot tell
whether the color streaming down the walls
is that of blood or roses.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz