Ghazal 22: A Different Joy Each Dawn

The taste of wine is a friend to us; if it stays a while, each morning will bring you a different kind of joy. From the root of persistence a tree will one day grow; the branch of steady care will bear fruit in its time. The master alchemist needs a great deal of silver to bury in dark earth before it turns to gold. Much patience is needed before that healer of hearts will one day pass through the street of those who ache. The scholar tells the mystics to lower their gaze; but if he saw my beloved, he too would become a lover at first sight. For when a king seizes a new domain, the foundation of the old law is turned upside down. If you tell a madman to be sober and wise, there is a danger the advice will only make him madder. The call of dawn rose up, and the dervish woke to it; pour him a heavy cup so he loses himself again. Cupbearer, bring a goblet; minstrel, sing something; set your lips to the reed's mouth so it turns to sugarcane. Today Saadi's words may not seem sweet, but like the tale of Shirin, tomorrow they will be a story told everywhere.