Ghazal 8: Beyond All Thirst

I am thirsty beyond all measure; cupbearer, bring that water. Quench me first, then serve the others. Once I too could not lift my eyes from sweet sleep, but on the day I parted from my friends I said goodnight to sleep for good. Any devout man, when that idol of beauty passes before the mosque, forgets his prayers the moment he glances at her brows. I am no wild prey trying to save my own life; if she shoots her arrows at me, I stand still and wait for them. No one knows the worth of a beloved companion the way I do; only a fish thrown onto dry land learns the value of water. Once I splashed hand and foot in water no deeper than my waist, and I mistook this bottomless sea for the same shallow pool. Now I am drowning; let me first reach some shore, then I will tell you the heartache of one lost in the flood. Had I been the one who broke faith, I would take my case to the great king, for that faithless one kills her enemies while this stone-hearted one kills her friends. The rival cries out against the crowd of her admirers; the singer's voice in the hall is a torment to the doorkeeper. 'Saadi, since you can't bear her cruelty, don't go near her again.' You blind man! Do I go on my own? She is the one reeling me in.