Original content

English translation

A king one day bought a servant, Before whose steed the sun itself would run. In loveliness, he had no equal; He was a cypress in stature, without parallel in height. Because he stood tall like a cypress, The cypress became his freeborn slave. From his face, even the moon fled into him, And from his lips, sugar fled into the sugarcane. He was a sun from head to foot; No one had seen such a sun in a robe. If he spoke, he poured pearls, And if he laughed, he poured sugar. A hundred thousand lovers were in his alley, For his face was just like that face. The infidel of his tresses, which ruined faith, Its ring became the door of a hundred folds. His narcissus eye possessed a double-kerneled almond, Filled with infidelity and exquisite magic. When he revealed the pearls of Eden from the oyster of his lips, He broke the teeth of the intellect in the mouth. When he opened the casket of rubies with a smile, A corpse of a hundred years would come alive again. If I were to speak of the narrowness of his mouth, No hair could fit anywhere but at his waist. The sun's face was yellow out of shame of him, The morning's breath was cold out of yearning for him. It was a pleasant season and the days of spring, A day of audience for the delicate ones of the meadow. The face of the plain was entirely colorful, The greenery was abundant and the world felt narrow. The impassioned nightingale sang sweetly, Telling the rose the path of the thorn-bearer. The delicate rose had a lip full of laughter, And the violet had cast its head upon its breast. The jasmine was given an extra tongue, Which fell out from the narrowness of its mouth. The fresh narcissus held a golden tray on its brain, Joyfully opening its eyes upon the face of the garden. The treasure of Korah had been unearthed, The water of Khidr had appeared in our presence. At such a time, with such a beautiful face, I know not how one could play a checkmate. The King resolved upon such a checkmate, Resolved upon a fresh and auspicious feast. When they arranged a feast in the midst of the garden, They summoned that silver-bosomed servant. In the middle of the feast, the king of good repute Wanted that servant to become bold and intimate. He told the cupbearer to take a goblet of wine Before him, to see how he would emerge from this test. The cupbearer immediately brought the cup before him, But that servant did not raise his head upwards. The king signaled the chamberlain, saying, 'Arise, You give him the cup and tell him to pour it into his soul.' That luminous full moon did not take the wine from the chamberlain; The king said, 'This is the task of the vizier.' The king's vizier brought the cup before him, But ultimately the servant did not take the cup from him either. The king arose and with his own hand Brought a cup before that silver-bodied cypress. He still did not take it from him and remained silent; For this reason, the vizier's blood came to a boil. He said, 'After all, you do not take the cup from the king, There is no one more ill-mannered than you in the army! The king is standing, and you have your head bowed? Righteousness truly befits servitude.' That servant called out right then and there, Saying, 'Because the king is standing before me, I have certainly not taken a cup from anyone else; My pride is entirely complete in this until Judgment Day. If I were to take a cup of wine from just anyone, How would I be thus worthy of the Sultan? From my silence, no harm comes to me; Nothing better than this can happen to me. Since the first cup was not worthy of me, Ultimately the king has stood over my head! If I had been satisfied with the first cup, I would have been wasted by the vizier and the king. Whether he annihilates me or makes me eternal, For eternity, the king is sufficient as my cupbearer.' The King said, 'In truth, he is a worthy servant; His inner nature is better than his outer creation. He has a beautiful face and high aspiration; With such a person one must sit forever. Whoever walks on this path with high aspiration, Even if he acts as a beggar, he has come as a king.'