Number 7

MasnaviIraqi style
English

Number 7

I saw a man in a certain place, digging into the grave of a king. Dust from the royal court slipped through his hands, tears fell from his eyes, and he said: I cannot tell if this was a king or a guard; all I see is a handful of bones.
Explanation: The poem uses the image of a royal grave reduced to bones to show that death erases every difference between power and servitude.

Original · Persian

شمارهٔ ۷

یکی را دیدم اندر جایگاهی که می‌کاوید قبر پادشاهی
به دست از بارگاهش خاک می‌رفت سرشک از دیده می‌بارید و می‌گفت
ندانم پادشه یا پاسبانی همی بینم که مشتی استخوانی