How do spaces function in an individual's life? In this ghazal, a space as mundane as the room becomes a witness; it becomes not only a space that observes things as minute as the dripping rain but also larger mythical and religious pictures. The poem takes a jab at the room becoming an enlightening place, a place that collects and disseminates information in a fluid manner. This ghazal differs from its conventional counterparts in terms of themes, from themes of eroticism to mystical yearning. The English ghazal here has been used to narrow down more specific issues such as interpersonal relationships, mental stability and hallucinations, and the room's role as a 'witness'. 

An Expansionist’s Obsession with Rooms

in martyred laments lies your crescent, paraded in my room.
In an inopportune moment, another country invaded in my room.
we go for a killing at sham’s peher, it’s the light of the jubilee
uncelebrated sacrificial children lie unaided in my room.
your voice? echoing back through the ancient cycles of time
hush, you’d like to go back? time’s lock barricaded in your room.
my permanence remains, an abstract presence disregarded by you
my image is in your mirror, scattered pieces evaded in your room.
beholden, your beauty means nothing. I’m bound to get tired.
must then you test my sabr, tangled hair all braided in your room?
forgery doesn’t exist. i only pretend to be you in your letters
the lover absent. the expansionist’s treasure raided in your room.
strange rain, to be dripping from stained ceilings like wrought iron
even the rain was forgotten, when the last judgment pervaded my room.
excess envy, you will be punished with whip scars of cardinality
as present becomes the passed past, you will be crusaded in this room.
lover, you’ve seen my cracked morality. silence, don’t reveal.
slowly, i will be exposed, paying off illusions ill fated in my room.

Footnotes

1. Sham's pether: Evening
2. Sabr: Patience in Urdu