Translated from Balochi by Fazal Baloch
Akbar Barakzai was born in Shikarpur, Sindh in 1939. He is ranked amongst the proponents of modern Balochi literature. His poetry reflects the objective realities of life. Love for motherland, peace and prosperity and dignity of a man are the recurrent themes of his poetry. His love for human dignity transcends all geographical and cultural frontiers. Barakzai is not a prolific poet. In a literary career which spans over half a century, Barakzai has managed to bring out just two anthologies of his poems, but his poetry has depth and reaches out to human hearts with its profundity. Last year, Barakzai rejected the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) award, quoting the oppressive policies meted out to his region by the government as the reason.
The Word
We begin with the word
With the word we end
Blessings and Salutations
To the Apostle of the word!
The word is God
The very existence
And the guiding ocean of time
The word brings forth
Freedom and providence
Prosperity and ruin
Mountains trembles with the fear of the word
Who could put out the ever-leaping flames of the word?
Don’t ever bury the word
In the chasm of your chest
Rather express the word
Yes speak it out!
The word is freedom
End of oppression
Light and radiance
Beauty and bliss
The word is Socrates’ free-spirited paramour
The ember glowing in Mansour’s fervent heart
The harbinger of a new dawn
Don’t ever bury the word
In the depth of your chest
Rather express the word
Yes, speak it out.
The Word brings forth
Freedom and providence.
Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies. Fazal Baloch has the translation rights to Barakzai’s works and is in the process of bringing them out as a book.
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