In this poem from the Mokhtar Nameh, Attar uses the metaphor of the parrot of the soul (طوطی جان) to represent the spiritual essence of human beings. The material world is depicted as a 'city' where any 'sugar' (worldly pleasure or sweetness) is inevitably mixed with 'poison' (sorrow, wrath, and spiritual deprivation). Attar questions why the noble soul remains in such a toxic environment, urging it to transcend the dualities of worldly existence and seek pure, unadulterated spiritual nourishment.