 | The Harp of Erin |  |
98
SONG,
TRANSLATED FROM THE PERSIAN.
From love, and from the flowing bowl,
Those dear delights that cheer my soul,
I've vow'd full often to abstain;
I've vow'd, but all my vows are vain.
Those dear delights that cheer my soul,
I've vow'd full often to abstain;
I've vow'd, but all my vows are vain.
The bowers where black-ey'd houris rove,
Shades in celestial sweets that rise,
Or ev'n the paradisial grove,
Less than her humble dome I prize.
Shades in celestial sweets that rise,
Or ev'n the paradisial grove,
Less than her humble dome I prize.
Angels ne'er feel, old records say,
Of mighty love the blissful sway:
Be love to me, mere mortal, giv'n,
To angels I resign their heav'n.
Of mighty love the blissful sway:
Be love to me, mere mortal, giv'n,
To angels I resign their heav'n.
Still, when I breathe the pious pray'r,
That intervening form I view;
And turn'd idolater, my fair,
To thee alone I deem it due.
That intervening form I view;
And turn'd idolater, my fair,
To thee alone I deem it due.
99
Stint not the grape's nectareous juice,
Nor yet the charms of love refuse:
Too soon will Time his sabre bare,
And Death was never known to spare.
Nor yet the charms of love refuse:
Too soon will Time his sabre bare,
And Death was never known to spare.
Then tell not me of cloister pale,
Or college where dull pedants pine;
Gladlier the tavern-door I hail,
Where brighter smiles the rosy wine.
Or college where dull pedants pine;
Gladlier the tavern-door I hail,
Where brighter smiles the rosy wine.
Soft Zephyr, whisper, as you pass
The window where she's wont to be:
“Sober, or o'er the sparkling glass,
Hafiz still fondly thinks on thee.”
The window where she's wont to be:
“Sober, or o'er the sparkling glass,
Hafiz still fondly thinks on thee.”
| The Harp of Erin | |