The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 17, No. 491, May 28, 1831

That I might sacrifice them all on these conditions.

The flame which she has enkindled in my heart
Is so bright, that it dazzles the universe:
It is a torch enclosed within crystal.
This heart is a Christian temple,
Wherein Beauty has established her sanctuary;
And the sighs which escape from it
Are like the loud ringing bells.[5 - A person, called the Mawezn, summons the people to prayers from the tower, at certain stated times, by ringing bells.]

Ah! too fascinating object! how dangerous
Are thy looks!—they wound indifferently
The hearts of young and old: they are
More to be dreaded than the fatal arrows of the mighty Toos.[6 - Toos, the son of Nouder, makes a conspicuous figure among the princes and warriors, celebrated by Ferdoosi in his book of Kings.]
Delight us with a glimpse of thy lovely form;
Charm our senses by the elegance of thy attitudes;
Our hearts are transported by thy glances.
The proud peacock, covered with confusion,
Dares not display before thee the rich
And pompous variety of his plumage.
Thy ebon ringlets are chains, which hold
Monarchs in captivity, and make
Them slaves to the power of thy charms.

The dust on which thou treadest becomes an ornament,
Worthy of the imperial diadem of Caus.[7 - Caus supposed to have been Darius the Mede by some historians.]
Haughty kings now prostrate themselves
Before Khacan,[8 - This poetical surname Khacan, adopted by Fath Ali Shah, signifies emperor or king.] since he has obtained
A favourable look from the object of his love.

II

That blessing which the fountain of life
Bestowed in former ages on Khezr[9 - The prophet Khezr (whom some mistake for Elias) is said to have discovered and tasted the "waters of immortality," and consequently to be exempt from death.]
Thy lips can communicate in a manner
Infinitely more efficacious.
Nature, confounded at the aspect of thy lovely mouth,
Conceals her rubies within a rock;—
Our hearts, ensnared by those eyes which express
All the softness of amorous intoxication,
Are held captive in the dimples of thy chin.

Love has excited in my soul a fire
Which cannot be extinguished;—
My bosom is become red with flames,
Like a parterre of roses;—
This heart is no longer mine:
It hangs suspended on the ringlets of thy hair—
And thou, cruel fair! thou piercest it
With a glance of thy cold disdain.
Ah! inquire not into the wretched. Khacan's fate:
Thy waving locks have deprived him of reason;
But how many thousand lovers, before him,
Have fallen victims to the magic of thy beauty.

III

My soul, captivated by thy charms,
Wastes itself away in chains, and bends beneath
The weight of oppression. Thou hast said
"Love will bring thee to the tomb—arise,
And leave his dominions" But, alas!
I wish to expire at thy feet, rather than to abandon
Altogether my hopes of possessing thee.
I swear, by the two bows that send forth
Irresistible arrows from thine eyes,
That my days have lost their lustre:
They are dark as the jet of thy waving ringlets;
And the sweetness of thy lips far exceeds,
In the opinion of Khacan, all that
The richest sugar-cane has ever yielded.

IV

The humid clouds of spring float over the enamelled meads,
And, like my eyes, dissolve in tears.
My fancy seeks thee in all places; and the beauties
Of Nature retrace, at every moment,
Thy enchanting image. But thou, O cruel fair one!
Thou endeavourest to efface from thy memory
The recollection of my ardent love—my tender constancy.

Thy charms eclipse the growing tulip—
Thy graceful stature puts to shame the lofty cyprus.
Let every nymph, although equal in beauty to Shireen,[10 - Shireen, the favourite of Khosroo, is no less celebrated for her beauty than for the passion with which she inspired Ferhad.]
Pay homage to thy superiority; and let all men
Become like Ferhad[11 - Of this unfortunate lover Ferhad, the romantic story has been told by several distinguished writers. The mountain to which our royal poet alludes is the Kooh Bisetoon (in the province of Curdistan), where are still visible many figures sculptured in the rock, which, by the romances of Persia, are ascribed to the statuary Ferhad. Among these sculptures, travellers have noticed the representation of a female—according to local tradition, the fair Shireen, mistress to King Khosroo, and the fascinating object of Ferhad's love. As a recompense for clearing a passage over the mountain of Bisetoon, by removing immense rocks, which obstructed the path (a task of such labour as far exceeded the power of common mortals, by Ferhad, however, executed with ease), the monarch had promised to bestow Shireen on the enamoured statuary. But a false report of the fair one's death having been communicated to Ferhad in a sudden manner, he immediately destroyed himself; and the scene of this catastrophe is still shown among the recesses of Mount Bisetoon.] of the mountain,
Distracted on beholding thy loveliness.

How could the star of day have shone amidst the heavens,
If the moon of thy countenance had not concealed
Its splendour beneath the cloud of a veil?
Oh! banish me not from thy sight;
Command me—it will be charitable—
Command me to die.
How long wilt thou reject the amorous solicitations
Of thy Khacan? Wilt thou drive him to madness
By thy unrelenting cruelty? The doomed
To endless tears and lamentations.