Quatrain No. 8

RubāʿīIraqi style
English

Quatrain No. 8

The fish of my life's hope slipped off the hook and swam away; my life passed uselessly, like a drunken night. A life whose single breath was worth a whole soul, what a pity, it slipped through my hands for nothing.
Explanation: The 'fish on the hook' image captures hope that was almost grasped but lost. 'Worth a whole soul' renders the idiom for something priceless.

Original · Persian

رباعی شمارهٔ ۸

ماهّیِ امیدِ عمرم از شَست برفت بیفایده عمرم چو شبِ مست برفت
عمری که ازو دمی به جانی ارزد افسوس که رایگانم از دست برفت