We do not believe in what runs through the veins. If it does not drip from the eye, then what is blood?

This couplet is a profound meditation on the nature of pain and authenticity. Mirza Ghalib challenges the very definition of suffering. He suggests that if a wound or sacrifice does not manifest visibly—if it doesn't drip like tears—then its existence, its pain, is questionable. It speaks to the hidden struggles, the silent sacrifices, and the emotional wounds that are often invisible to the world.