जिस से उसे लगाऊँ रूखा ही हो मिले है
सीने में जल कर अज़-बस दिल ख़ाक हो गया है
— Mir Taqi Mir
Meaning
From the person from whom I try to draw any hope, I only receive dryness (disappointment); my heart, having burned in my chest, has turned into dust.
Explanation
This profound couplet speaks to the ultimate agony of unrequited love and emotional exhaustion. Mir Taqi Mir describes a paradoxical pain: the pain comes from the very person from whom one expects nothing but coldness. The suffering is so intense that the speaker feels their heart has literally turned to dust, consumed by an internal fire. It’s a masterful portrayal of resignation—accepting the harshness, yet being utterly destroyed by it.