तुम्हारी बात लगती है मुझे तीर

Mirza Dagh Dehlvi: Of Love, Words, and Wounds

This ghazal by Dagh captures the intricate interplay between love and disdain, revealing the layered depth of human emotion.
His words unveil how affection and resentment can dwell within the same heart.

There’s no escape from the ache of rejection — not even by changing worlds.

The beloved’s words are so sharp they wound the heart — and yet, the poet teases her choice of weapon.

How treacherous is the tongue when led by the heart.
In that unguarded slip, he speaks the very words she despises most.

Love, after all, is never without its own undoing.

उन्हें नफरत हुई, सारे जहाँ से
नयी दुनिया कोई, लाये कहाँ से

तुम्हारी बात लगती है मुझे तीर
निगाह का काम लेते हो ज़बां से

उन्हें जिस बात से थी सख़्त नफ़रत
वही बे-सख़्ता निकली ज़बां से

Word Meanings (for selected lines)

• तीर (Teer): arrow — often used metaphorically for piercing words or glances

• निगाह (Nigah): gaze or look — in poetry, often a symbol of love or allure

• ज़बां (Zubaan): tongue or speech — represents expression or spoken word

• बे-सख़्ता (Besakhta): spontaneous, uttered without intent or control

• नफ़रत (Nafrat): hatred or aversion