| The houris in their
palaces and pavilions |
| my lament provoked to
supreme ardour; |
3080 |
| one here put forth her
head from her tent, |
| another there peeped
out from her chamber and gazed; |
| to every heart in
eternal Paradise |
| I gave of the pain and
sorrow of yon terrestrial globe. |
| A smile played on the
lips of my holy guide |
3085 |
| and he said: ‘
magician of Indian stock, |
| behold now that Indian
minstrel |
| the grace of whose gaze
converts the dew to pearls. |
| a broiderer of
subtleties, his name is Bartari, |
| his nature generous as
the clouds of Azar; |
3090 |
| from the meadow he
plucks only the new-sprung buds. |
| Your melody has drawn
him towards us, |
| a king who, with a song
sublime, |
| even in poverty dwells
in lofty exaltation; |
| with his delicate
thought he designs images of beauty, |
3095 |
| a whole world of
meaning hidden in two words. |
| He is intimate with the
workshop of life, |
| he is Jamshid, his
poetry Jamshid’s Cup.’ |
| We rose in reverence
for his art |
| and prepared suitably
to engage with him. |
3100 |
| None knows where the
poet is in this world; |
3105 |
| his melody springs from
the high notes and the low. |
| That burning heart
which he has in his breast |
| finds not repose even
before God. |
| Our soul’s delight
is in questing; |
| poetry’s fire is
of the station of desire. |
3110 |
| You who are drunk with
wine pressed from the vine of words, |
| if you should ever
attain to this rank. |
| with two verses in this
world of stone and brick |
| one can ravish the
hearts of the houris of Paradise. |
| These. frail gods are
but of stone and brick; |
| there is One more
lofty, far from temple and church. |
| Prostration without the
joy of action is dry and useless; |
| life is all action,
whether fair or foul. |
3120 |
| I will tell you plainly
a word not known to every one— |
| happy is the man who
has written it on his heart’s tablet. |
| This world you behold
is not the handiwork of God, |
| the wheel is yours, and
the thread spun on your spindle. |
| Prostrate yourself
before the Law of action’s reward, |
3125 |
| for from action are
born Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. |