Authors › Abu al-Mu'ayyad Rownaqi Bukhara'i › Scattered Poems

Scattered Poems

by Abu al-Mu'ayyad Rownaqi Bukhara'i

1. Number 1

English
The king's sword is a living soul; who has ever seen such a wonder? A soul through which body and soul alike are laid to ruin. Instead of jewels, trembling within its substance you can see the souls of his enemies, like specks of dust in sunlight.
Explanation: The sword is imagined as alive, its blade glinting not with gems but with the quivering souls of slain foes, compared to dust motes visible in a beam of light.

Original

شمارهٔ ۱

جانی است تیغ شاه، که دید این همه شگفت؟ جانی کزو بود تن و جان همه خراب لرزان به‌جای گوهر در جرم او پدید جان‌های دشمنانش چو ذره در آفتاب

2. Number 2

English
A wine you could not tell apart from sunlight, if you held it up against the sun. It glows from the cup as if a Yemeni ruby were set within the star Suhail.
Explanation: Suhail (Canopus) is a bright star traditionally linked with Yemen, and Yemeni carnelian (aqiq) was prized for its red glow; the image likens the wine's color and brilliance to both.

Original

شمارهٔ ۲

نبیدی که نشناسی از آفتاب چو با آفتابش کنی مقترن چنان تابد از جام گویی که هست عقیق یمن در سهیل یمن