If I Could See My Love Again

Oh, if I could see my love's face once more, I would thank my Maker until judgment day. They left behind the one whose load had fallen in the caravan, those faithless friends who tied up their own bundles and rode on. People take care to keep a stranger's feelings, yet our friends wounded their own companion. Still I keep hoping that after the wound of parting they will lay a healing balm on this hopeful heart. The choice is yours: war if you want it, or peace, I have crossed out my own will with a pen. Whoever gets stuck fast in the soil of a foreign land, tell him he will only see his homeland now in a sweet dream. If you want safety, do not gaze at the beautiful, and if you do, say farewell to your sleep and your peace. The fire-worshipper, the Christian, the Muslim, each in his own faith has a direction of prayer; ours is our lovely one. I wanted to become the dust at her feet, then I stopped myself: I will not let my dust settle on that hem of her robe. Last night I saw one lovely as an angel who, hidden from the rival, was whispering among friends to the one she loved. If you want your own desire, say goodbye to our union; and if you want me, give up having your own way. Better to keep your heartache hidden until your liver fills with blood than to show your wretched state to an enemy. Even if you carry a thousand sorrows, tell no one, beware, my brother, until you find someone who will truly share your grief. You, walking cypress, at last turn and look my way, so that I may lay my need before you in service. My friends say: Sadi, why did you give your heart to love, and lose your dignity among people? We have found our own good in being penniless and free; let each person decide what is best for his own affairs.