Number 24

I don't know what fate has decreed against my worth, that from this threshold they keep driving me, forever homeless and adrift. How glad I am for this: I've fallen into good fortune, for on my journey a moon-faced companion walks beside me. Go, adviser, spare me your counsel, for I am bound to no one; no one but the old master of the tavern can guide me on this road. Go, preacher, don't tell me tales of repentance and piety, for such a shallow sermon never reaches the ear of my soul. I have not seen my beloved's face with the eye of pure oneness; in this state, both worlds cannot fit into my sight. Out of fear of separation, the caravan bells cry in the deserts; from their wailing this much has become clear to me. Qasim's heart is shattered, for the beloved has vanished from his eyes; in this parting a fresh wound scars my heart each day.