Let Us All Offer Thanksgiving (Freedom) Poem by Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor

Let us all offer thanksgiving,
For Freedom has come to us;
It's after ages that she has beamed
Her radiance on us.

In western climes Freedom comes
With a shower of light and grace,
But dry, sterile thunder is all
She has for our own soil.

Poverty and starvation,
Repression and lawlessness, -
It's with these happy blessings
That she has come to us.

Freedom, being of heavenly birth,
Can't move from door to door;
You'll find her camping in the homes
Of a chosen few alone.

She says she will not tolerate
Any wealth in private hands;
That's why they are wringing capital
Out of the hands of everyone.

There's mourning in every house
But in sequestered bowers
Our rulers, like bridegrooms,
Are in Alliance win Freedom.

Nabir Sheikh knows what Freedom means,
For his wife was whisked away.
He went on complaining until
She bore Freedom in a new home !

They searched her armpits seven times
To see if she was hiding rice;
In a basket covered with a shawl
The peasant's wife brought Freedom home.

There's restlessness in every heart,
But no one dare speak out -
Afraid that with their free expression
Freedom may be annoyed.

[Translated by: Triloki Nath Raina]