The Lost Son

Iraqi style
English

The Lost Son

A man lost his son from the traveling caravan, and at nightfall he searched among them all. He asked at every tent and rushed in every direction, and in the darkness he finally found that light. When he came back to the people of the caravan, I heard him saying to the camel driver: You have no idea how I found my way to the one I loved! Everyone who came toward me, I said, 'This is him.' That is why people of heart go seeking after everyone: perhaps one day they will reach the one they long for. For the sake of one heart they carry countless burdens; for the sake of a single rose they swallow thorns.
Explanation: The story is a Sufi parable: the seeker's longing makes him see the beloved in every face. The 'rose and thorns' image means enduring pain for the sake of love.

Original · Persian

بخش ۲۵ - حکایت

یکی را پسر گم شد از راحله شبانگه بگردید در قافله
ز هر خیمه پرسید و هر سو شتافت به تاریکی آن روشنایی بیافت
چو آمد بر مردم کاروان شنیدم که می‌گفت با ساروان
ندانی که چون راه بردم به دوست! هر آن کس که پیش آمدم گفتم اوست
از آن اهل دل در پی هر کسند که باشد که روزی به مردی رسند
برند از برای دلی بارها خورند از برای گلی خارها