Number 12

Her beautiful face makes the sun and moon jealous; the light of the stars is just a reflection from the mirror of her face. Look at the faces of the world's tulip-cheeked beauties and admit it: the flowering cheeks of these lovely ones adorn the whole garden. My Canaan-born moon has shown her face in Egypt; like Zuleikha, everyone everywhere is lost in gazing at her. I want no narcissus, no rosebud, for from my beloved's eyes and lips I already have both the rosebud and the dark, languid narcissus. Seek out the gathering of the wine-drinking free spirits, for there you'll find the laughter of the wine-cup and the weeping of the flask. If the rose's cheek and the garden cypress aren't before my eyes, there is the lovely face of my darling and her tall, graceful form. Nightingales of the garden, sing no more, for Eshragh is himself one love-crazed nightingale.