Number 13

MasnaviIraqi style
English

Number 13

They wound each other, blow upon blow, tearing at the flesh, yet offer no salve to heal it. Thorn and flower are tangled together, darkness and light, honey and nectar, the sting and the bee.
Explanation: The second couplet pairs opposites, sweetness and pain bound together, to show how good and bad are inseparable in the world.

Original · Persian

شمارهٔ ۱۳

زخم بالای یکدگر بزنند بخراشند و مرهمی نکنند
خار و گل درهم‌اند و ظلمت و نور عسل و شهد و نشتر و زنبور