Me he perdido muchas veces por el mar
I I’ve lost myself many times in the sea
Ghazal for Lorca
Had Lorca been in India, he would have been lost in the sea of courtesans
Not the coquetry of Andalusian women, but dusky moaning courtesans
Had Lorca been in Lahore for versos, he would have visited the Lahore Fort,
the duende and Dionysian blood wedding of a yearning courtesan
Had Lorca met me in the surreal setting across the Taj Mahal, we would
have penned Rubaiyat, an assembly of tears, simmering courtesans!
Had Lorca searched for jasmine and vendors around the Royal Mosque
I would have preferred to sleep and supplicate with a courtesan,
Had Lorca instead of Basilica, chosen the shrine of a saint in Lahore,
the Genile, grooved by tobaccos, a puff of love with my courtesan,
Had I been there where Lora was martyred, I would have grieved long
till churches had stopped tolling; better die embracing a courtesan,
Had Lorca and Agha Shahid encountered and roamed for Rekhta in Kashmir,
Rizwan would have breached borders, exporting ghazals with courtesans.
by Prof.Dr. Rizwan Akhtar
Institute of English Studies
Punjab University
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