English
On Giving Thanks for God's Blessings
Night exists for your rest, and day as well,
with the bright moon and the sun that lights the world.
The sky, like a servant laying out a carpet for you,
spreads wide the banquet of spring.
Whether it is wind and snow, rain and mist,
or thunder swinging its club while lightning strikes like a sword,
they are all agents under orders,
nurturing the seed you planted in the soil.
If you go thirsty, do not fret at the hardship,
for the water-carrier cloud will bring your water on its shoulder.
From the dust it brings color and scent and food,
a feast for the eye, the mind, and the palate.
It gave you honey from the bee and manna from the air,
dates from the palm, and the palm from a slender shoot.
Every palm-grower bites his hand in wonder:
no one has ever cultivated a palm like this!
The sun, the moon, and the Pleiades are for you,
lanterns hung from the ceiling of your house.
From your thorn it brings a rose, and musk from the deer's pouch,
gold from the mine, and fresh leaves from dry wood.
With its own hand it drew your eyes and brows,
for such intimate work cannot be left to strangers.
The Almighty who raised you so tenderly
has nourished you with blessings of every kind.
With every breath you must say from your soul
that thanking Him is not the work of the tongue alone.
My God, my heart bleeds and my eyes are wounded,
for I see Your gifts far exceed anything words can hold.
I will not even speak of beasts, birds, ants, and fish,
but the whole host of angels in the highest heaven,
even they have offered only a little of the praise You are due,
speaking barely one part in ten thousand thousand.
So go, Saadi, wash your hands and close your book:
do not keep walking a road that has no end.