Kainaat Ke Khaliq – Urdu Nazm by Parveen Shakir

کائنات کے خالق!

دیکھ تو مرا چہرہ

آج میرے ہونٹوں پر

کیسی مسکراہٹ ہے

آج میری آنکھوں میں

کیسی جگمگاہٹ ہے

میری مسکراہٹ سے

تجھ کو یاد کیا آیا

میری بھیگی آنکھوں میں

تجھ کو کچھ نظر آیا

اس حسین لمحے کو

تو تو جانتا ہوگا

اس سمئے کی عظمت کو

تو تو مانتا ہوگا

ہان تر اگماں سچ ہے

ہاں کہ آج میں نے بھی

زندگی جنم دی ہے

English Translation

O Creator of the universe,
look at my face—
what kind of smile rests
upon my lips today?

What is this radiance
shining in my eyes?

From my smile,
what did you remember?
In my tear-filled eyes,
did you see something of your own?

This beautiful moment—
you must know it.
The greatness of this instant—
surely you acknowledge it.

Yes, it is true:
today, I too
have given birth to life.

Explanation

Parveen Shakir had a way of writing that made private, often unspoken feelings feel completely visible. This piece reads like a quiet, almost breathless moment right after childbirth. The speaker turns to God—not in a grand, formal way, but almost like she’s trying to share something too big to hold on her own.

There’s this mix of wonder and disbelief in her voice. She’s noticing her own face, her own emotions, as if they’ve surprised her. The smile and the tears exist together, which feels very real—because moments like that aren’t simple joy, they’re overwhelming in every direction at once.