In Attar of Nishapur's Mokhtar Nameh (Chapter 47, Poem 49), the poet uses the classical Persian motifs of the morning's smile, the cloud's tears, and the candle's self-consuming nature to depict the utter isolation and self-sufficiency of the mystical lover's emotional state:

• The Morning and the Cloud: The speaker compares his momentary happiness to the fleeting smile of the morning ('Like the morning, I am content with a smile for a single breath') and his grief to the heavy rain of a cloud ('Like the cloud in weeping, no one is like me').
• Independence from Others: He declares a total detachment from external human society and others' emotional states ('I have no business with the laughter and weeping of anyone'), emphasizing the solitary nature of the spiritual path.
• The Self-Consuming Candle: Like a candle (shama') that simultaneously burns (which looks like a smile or laugh) and melts (which represents weeping/tears), the lover is self-contained in his suf...