AN INJURED CAT IN AN EMPTY BAG Jan Muhammad Khan Not easy is this road In this empty rice-sack My spirit turns Those iron strands of jute have spiked this heart Into the yellow bowls Of these eyes Clang coins of moonlight And through this body night is spreading -- i Today, on your naked back Who will scratch that fire Who will spark those embers Who will unfold These bloody flowers of struggle These flame-striking claws are Lifeless Not easy is the road today Soon This path will Break and fall Into some dirty pool With the silence of this coffin clinging all around me I shall sleep Becoming water once again And you Must walk yet further In a deep sleep you must walk And you Do not see the sack beyond That empty sack which is for you Jan Muhammad Khan Not easy is the road (Tr. Rafey Habib) 43