I am always late / Muneer Niazi

I am always late with everything
In saying something important,
In keeping a promise

In calling her,
In asking her to return
I am always late

In helping or
in consoling a friend
In meeting someone on old, ancient roads
I am always late

In being in love during changing seasons
In remembering
Or in forgetting someone
I am always late

In saving someone before death
In letting someone know
That reality
was something quite different
I am always late

…

Muneer Niazi was an Urdu/Punjabi poet from Pakistan. In the video, it’s incredible to see most people in tears while listening to these simple lines, the simple devastating feeling of being too late. “Too late,” Diego Rivera was quoted in Marnham’s book, “I realized the most wonderful part of my life had been my love for Frida.”

…

This almost hasty translation from original Urdu is mine.