When the beggar drinks the wine, he rises to a prince;
and should a little fox drink it, he grows into a lion.
If an old man drinks, he takes up youth again;
and if a young man drinks, he arrives at the wisdom of age.
Explanation: The wine here works as a transformative force, turning the lowly into the powerful and reversing the effects of age. The fox and lion contrast timidity with strength.
Original · Persian
رباعی شمارهٔ ۱۷
درویش که می خورد به میری برسد
ور روبهکی خورد به شیری برسد
گر پیر خورد جوانی از سر گیرد
ور زانکه جوان خورد به پیری برسد