Original content

English translation

And among the poets of Khorasan is Azari Esfaraini, and in his poems there is much extravagant hyperbole, and among his admired opening verses is: Again night has fallen; my eye made the field of weeping stream with water, A flood of blood came and launched a night-raid upon the army of sleep. And another is Katebi Nishaburi, who has many original meanings, and in conveying those meanings he also has a distinctive style; but his verse is not uniform and even—it is uneven and mismatched. And another is Shahi Sabzevari, who has delicate poems, uniform and even, with pure expressions and richly flavored meanings. And another is Arefi Heravi, author of the book 'Guy o Chowgan' (The Ball and the Polo-stick), a dialogue-work that is among his most outstanding compositions; and these few verses are from that book, in description of the polo horse: When, like the ball of the heavens, it raised the dust, It leapt across field after field like a ball; Each time it became drowned in sweat, It was rain, and amid it, lightning; Fire fled from its hoof, The gale hung from its tail; Every stride it ran toward the ball, The lane-top spun from its speed; That moment when it went into the contest, A hundred morning breezes were left behind in its dust; Over the mountain it passed like a flood, And over the sea it swept like the wind.