My Friend Seems To Be Hindu Poem by Afzal Shauq

(dedicated to Benita Premchand)

I know
that neither I believe in
the re-birth of man
in some other lives
nor the life
itself is a tree to catch leaves
every new spring

But still
my Muslim heart like a temple
keeps the idols of different Bagwans
for the sake of a hope
that you being the worshiper
may visit it some day
___________________
- Afzal Shauq’s Pashto Poem
‘Yar Mi Hindo.. Zeh Musalman Yam’
-Translated By: Nazish Zafar
-Published in book'Bridging The Gaps' p/157-157
© Afzal Shauq