A Million Men Surround Me

A million men surround me;
Through the night
I hear them march,
Beasts neighing to the fray,
And in the gloom of trees
I see the frosty glint of steel
Narrowing the circle round
My obstreperous heart.
O friend!
Through all this din,
Like humble rain
Falling on the quickening land,
I know your nearing steps,
And feel upon my hand
The lightness of your lonely hand.

Reprinted from "The Collected Poems of Shahid Suhrawardy" with permission from UPL.