Metaphorical Analysis

In Chapter 37, Poem 17 of Mokhtar Nameh, Attar of Nishapur employs a complex literary conceit revolving around the 'pistachio' (a classic Persian metaphor for the beloved's small, tight mouth), the 'kernel' (maghz), and the newly sprouted facial down (khatt-e fastaqi or pistachio-hued down).

Attar playfully questions the origins of the beloved's facial down using poetic etiology (hosn-e ta'lil). He suggests that the beloved's mouth is so tiny and tight that its inner 'kernel' could not fit inside. As a result, the kernel was forced out of the narrow space and fell outside the mouth, manifesting as the green facial down. This imagery serves to emphasize the extreme tightness and diminutive size of the beloved's mouth—a standard ideal of beauty in classical Persian literature—while marveling at the newly sprouted beard.