Number 23 - And He Also Said

Iraqi style
English

Number 23 - And He Also Said

You have hidden yourself so completely behind your beard that no eye has seen anything of you but your eyes. Besides your beard, you shameful man, no one has ever seen a hairy shield concealing such a secret.
Explanation: The poem is satirical, mocking a man whose thick beard hides everything but his eyes. The imagery plays on the beard as a screen behind which the man's true self stays concealed.

Original · Persian

شمارهٔ ۲۳ - و قال ایضاً

آنچنان گشته‌ای نهان پس ریش کز تو جز چشم هیچ چشم ندید
به جز از ریش مرد ریک تو کس سپر گاو راز پشم ندید