Layli and Majnun

  On which on either side two figures join,

  Or we shall be a single almond, but

  Two kernels will be in that single nut,

  So we’ll be one, and all that made us two

  Will be cast off like a discarded shoe—

  With you my being turns to light, flown far

  From every entity but what you are.

  Whose body’s this, what can it rightly claim?

  It’s like a coin reminted in your name—

  At such a feast no sadness should be there,

  Nor when your banner flutters in the air,

  Our single soul is yours, and you are free,

  More noble than a single cypress tree,

  While I’m all yours, my dearest, like a rose

  You’ve tucked inside the sash that binds your clothes.

  The breeze that brings your scent revives my soul

  And scours my heart of rust and makes it whole,

  And heals me in the way that mummia heals136

  The pains a feverish, sick body feels.

  If you’re a dog at heart, then I shall be

  Dust in your street for dogs to tread on me,

  And if you keep a pack of dogs, I’ll take

  My humble place among them for your sake,

  And all the beasts within my retinue

  Will dedicate their services to you.

  I’m poor and you are rich, this is my duty,

  I’m nothingness and you are all of beauty,

  Your beauty spots are silver coins, discreet,

  Your golden coins are bracelets on your feet,

  And seeing all your beauty and your grace

  I long to take those golden bracelets’ place.

  Clouds’ rainy tears announce that spring is here,

  Majnun for you sheds many a flowing tear,

  Men set an Indian guard to watch and wait,

  Majnun’s the Indian guard who’s at your gate,

  The heavens take their beauty from the moon,

  Just as your face tells fortunes to Majnun,

  And far from you Majnun’s the nightingale

  Who sees his longing for the roses fail;

  Men mine the earth for rubies, but to find

  Where you are, it’s his soul Majnun has mined!

  Oh God, how wonderful if you could be

  Filled with impetuous desire for me!

  *

  “Moonlight would make the night as bright as day,

  I’d be alone, and see you make your way

  Through flowers to me, and I’d sit next to you,

  And we’d be side by side at last, we two,

  And like a harp137 I’d clasp you for my own

  And hide you like a ruby locked in stone . . .

  Now drunk with your narcissus eyes I stare

  And dare to touch your hyacinthine hair,

  My fingers play among your curls, then trace

  The contours of your eyebrows and your face.

  I grasp your apple chin,138 my body rests

  Upon the pomegranates of your breasts,

  I fondle them like apples, and I bite

  Your pomegranate chin with fictive spite;

  Across your shoulders I push back your hair

  To steal the pretty earrings hidden there,

  I move your veil aside, and in small sips

  I taste the dates of your delicious lips;

  I frame your face in tumbling curls, as though

  Violets enclosed a rose’s modest glow,

  And then I sweep the curls back, and your face

  Is there again in all its radiant grace;

  And now I have you lean against my chest

  To read how lost I’ve been and how distressed

  In poems that I give into your hand

  To have you sympathize and understand . . .

  *

  “O God, that this enchanting fantasy

  Could really come to pass for you and me!

  Unless my little harp should chance to break,

  This is the song I’ll sing for your sweet sake;

  Ah, don’t torment me so, don’t sentence me

  To such prolonged and dreadful misery.

  Don’t summon me to you, would that you knew

  How happy life with me could be for you,

  There’d be no shame for you, there’d be no strangers

  To threaten us with trouble or with dangers,

  Lie still with me or wander, for it’s clear

  No one you know is going to appear—

  And my kind animals can’t say a word

  About whatever they have seen or heard.

  Wherever else you go, whatever pit

  You hide in, others can discover it,

  Friends might surround you, but wherever you

  Find friends, your enemies will be there too;

  How could I keep you safe in distant places

  Where you’re hemmed in by unfamiliar faces?

  With me, though, you’d be safe, you could be sure

  Of being always happy and secure.

  Life is our friend now, we must grasp it when

  We can, this chance will never come again!

  Don’t be a dazzling sun that’s counterfeit,

  Or cheat me with a mirage’s deceit.

  Thirst for your beauty has disfigured me—

  And you’ve shown not one jot of sympathy.

  Without you I can suffer; just as true

  Is that I could rejoice and drink with you,

  It seems that you’ve forgotten this, as though

  It were a waking dream dreamed long ago—

  Wine drunk with you would surely be forgiven

  Since wine is not forbidden us in heaven!

  I’d drink an ocean from your hands, I’d drain

  The draught, not half a droplet would remain,

  And poison given me by you would be

  A draught that I would swallow willingly,

  And I’d be drunk, and you’d respond, and then

  You too would fill your empty glass again.”

  *

  He spoke, and turned, impatient to depart,

  As melancholy filled his aching heart,

  And that sweet cypress started to retrace

  Her journey home, with sadness in her face.

  Salam Baghdadi Comes to See Majnun

  The skillful teller of this story says

  That in Baghdad in those now distant days

  A lover lived, a youth so young his beard

  And lip’s first growth had hardly yet appeared;

  Love’s troubles had already reached him though

  And he knew well the setbacks lovers know,

  Love’s smoky fire had choked him, and he’d borne

  Love’s miseries, its vigils, and its scorn.

  Salam was this youth’s name, and Fate had made him

  Wealthy in every way that she could aid him;

  He lived in love’s world, and he venerated

  The heartfelt lyrics lovers had created.

  The fame of Qais’s plangent songs had grown

  Until his tragic tale became well known,

  And men of every sort and everywhere

  Sang his sad plaints of love and love’s despair,

  And some who sang his songs tried to discover

  The whereabouts of this composer-lover.

  And so from town to town these poems had

  Proceeded till at last they reached Baghdad,

  Where connoisseurs of love and elegance

  Would sing his songs as if within a tr
ance.

  Salam grew keen to meet the author of

  Such sensitive accounts of desperate love—

  He mounted a fast camel, loosed her reins,

  And set off galloping across the plains,

  Urging her onward, hoping he could question

  The man whose tale was now his one obsession;

  He asked if men had seen someone forlorn

  And naked as the day that he was born,

  Whom animals surrounded, as though they

  Encircled him to keep mankind away.

  *

  From far away, Majnun saw him appear

  And shouted to his beasts as he drew near,

  That they should be prepared to fight the stranger,

  And use their claws and jaws to ward off danger.

  Salam saw that they thought he’d come to harm them

  And quickly called out kindly to disarm them,

  And when Majnun perceived his friendliness

  He greeted him with heartfelt tenderness,

  And welcomed him, and asked him why he’d come,

  And where it was that he had ridden from.

  He answered him, “It’s you I’ve come to find,

  When I set out it’s you I had in mind,

  I left Baghdad to reach this very place

  Hoping that I could meet you face to face;

  Baghdad’s my home-town, I’ve been happy there,

  Till now I’ve never traveled anywhere;

  I’m here because of you, because I’m smitten

  By all those marvelous poems that you’ve written.

  Since God has given me this day, to see

  You face to face, right here, in front of me,

  My fervent hope is that you’ll let me spend

  The life that I have left, here as your friend.

  I kiss the ground before you, hoping I

  Can tend you faithfully until I die,

  Not for an instant shall I cease to serve you,

  With every breath I’ll struggle to deserve you.

  For every verse that you compose, my part

  Will be to learn that sacred verse by heart,

  And as I learn your poems I’m quite sure

  My soul will grow more beautiful and pure.

  I know this is presumptuous, but allow

  Yourself to be acquainted with me now—

  Give me your songs to sing, and think of me

  As one of these wild animals you see.

  I’ll be your willing slave, I won’t desert you,

  You know a slave like me could never hurt you.

  I too have been worn down by love; I too

  Have known love’s dreadful agonies, like you.”

  *

  And when Salam had had his say, Majnun

  Smiled at him like a slender crescent moon.

  “You’re used to comfort, I can see,” he said.

  “This road is hard, and dangers lie ahead;

  Turn round, go back. Yes, you’re a man, I know,

  But not one who can go where I must go;

  Of all the hundred sorrows I’ve been through

  Not one of them has been endured by you.

  My animals are all I have; how can

  A wretch like me support another man?

  Your coming to me here can only be

  Like one more painful nail banged into me;

  I can’t endure myself—how can I share

  My space with someone else whom I can’t bear?

  From my words even demons run away—

  What use to you is anything I say?

  All day I wander aimlessly, and then

  Sleep on these stones till morning comes again;

  Look, I’m a savage, outcast and despised,

  Find someone like yourself who’s civilized!

  If you have iron’s endurance, still you’ll be

  Worn out and sickened by the likes of me,

  And if you’re water, then I’m fire—in one

  Night I’ll evaporate you, you’ll be gone!

  I’m poor, I’ve nothing with me to detain you,

  I haven’t got the means to entertain you;

  We can’t get on, you like yourself, and I

  Despise myself so much I want to die—

  I’ve thrown my clothes off, whereas you feel best

  Whenever you’re well groomed and nicely dressed.

  I need no friends, there’s no one I feel free with,

  You’re on the lookout for new friends to be with;

  For you to stay here’d be a bad mistake,

  You love the idols that I love to break,

  So leave this wasteland and leave me behind,

  I’m not the kindly friend you’d hoped to find!

  You had a hard time searching but you found me,

  The life I live, the wild beasts that surround me—

  You’ve seen I’m weird and sad, so simply say,

  ‘God keep you, friend,’ and then be on your way!

  If kindness stops you going, then believe me

  Life’s harsh and cruel here, so you’d better leave me!”

  *

  Hopeful, Salam did not accept one word

  Of all the counsel and advice he heard;

  He said, “In God’s name, don’t try any more

  To hide the water that I’m thirsty for;

  You are my qebleh,139 so allow me to

  Bow down before you, and to worship you,

  And if it’s wrong to worship in this way

  I’ll seek forgiveness for it when I pray.”

  *

  And so Majnun eventually acceded

  To what he asked, touched by how hard he pleaded.

  Immediately Salam produced a spread

  Of halva, loaves, and little cakes, and said,

  “Relax now, please sit down with me, and break

  This bread with me, for our new friendship’s sake;

  And I admire your fasting, but these scraps

  Are too small to be judged as a relapse,

  We all need food, and that’s to be expected,

  The body’s appetites must be respected.”

  Majnun said, “Not by me, my appetite

  Has gone and I don’t want a single bite;

  Halva and bread’s for those who are intent

  On tending to their body’s nourishment,

  That’s not my way, though; if food doesn’t fill me

  That’s normal, fasting isn’t going to kill me.”

  And when Salam saw that his grief had made

  Him shun both food and sleep, and that he paid

  No heed to anyone, and didn’t care

  If he was here or there or anywhere,

  His heart went out to him, and all he felt.

  He said, “It would be better if you dealt

  With all this dreadful sorrow with much more

  Patient forbearance than you’ve done before;

  Your heart won’t always grieve, the heavens never

  Present one aspect to the earth forever,

  And in the time it takes to blink your eyes

  A hundred doors can open if you’re wise;

  Don’t grieve for grief’s sake, recognize your worth,

  And don’t let heaven make you like the earth!

  Return from pain and mourning for a while—

  As much as you have wept in sorrow, smile!

  I too was once heartbroken, captive to

  The misery I suffered, just like you,

  But God’s benevolence and favor freed me

  As I allowed His love an
d grace to lead me—

  And your complaints will end at last; tomorrow

  You will forget the substance of your sorrow.

  This flame of love burns fiercely, but in truth

  It gets its heat and brightness from our youth,

  This furnace fire that seems so uncontrolled

  Becomes, as we grow older, calm and cold.”

  *

  Majnun heard how this kindly man reproved him

  And stood, but nothing that he’d heard had moved him.

  He said, “So I’m just fanciful, you think?

  Or I’m like this because of whims or drink?

  I am love’s emperor, and have no shame

  In saying this, I glory in the name!

  I have no earthly lust, I’ve been made pure

  And chaste by all the sorrows I endure.

  I have escaped from sensuality,

  Such fancies have no value now for me—

  My being is all love, and its chaste fire

  Burns me like sandalwood with pure desire,

  Love purifies my house, and all my heart

  Is gathered now and ready to depart—

  Who can describe my being, since I’ve none;

  Only my friend exists—all else is gone.140

  My love will last, secure and unbetrayed,

  Until the glittering stars in heaven fade,

  And from my faithful heart love will be sundered

  When all the sand grains of the earth are numbered.

  If you intend to talk to me, first learn

  To hold your tongue, and don’t talk out of turn;

  Consider who you are, mind what you say,

  And don’t go taunting others in this way—

  It’s well said that the first and best defense

  Is careful self-control and common sense.”

  Salam was chastened and dismayed, and heeded

  The words of one who knew much more than he did.

  *

  You won’t be disrespectful if you’re wise

  Since then you won’t need to apologize:

  A well-strung bow, or one that’s slack, if it

  Is badly aimed the target won’t be hit—

  And strong or weak, if you’re impertinent

  You will be hurt, whatever your intent,

  Witty uncalled-for words will bring you shame

  And weak ones will be ridiculed as lame,

  To turn a key within a lock, make sure

  That it’s the right key you’ve been searching for,

  A well requires a rope, and journeys need

  Good feet for walking, then you can proceed.

  *

  Majnun and good Salam, for a few days,

  Before the final parting of their ways,