Like Sandalwood Poem by Sadiqullah Khan

Like sandalwood
Burning into ashes
In the beloved's memory
The smoke
Making the images of the beloved
Turning into whirls
Like the deceptive hair of my love
The abstraction of the line
Making the curves of that beauty
The beauty that is burning me inside
My glory is to add
Life and enchantment
Like the saki in the mehfil
Like the flow of the winecups
From hand to hand
Like the dripping wine
Down those red lips
The twinkle in that chin
The redness in the eyes
But I am burning into ashes
The lines and the curves
The smoke is making
The beloveds definition
The smile on your face
Hold me close
Smell me deep
For I am the one
Vanishing in smoke
Close to your bosom
Kiss me once
As I will be no more
Once the mehfil* is over
*merry company