In graceful wit and clearness of intellect he is the equal of Shīkībī of Iṣfahān. He is now in the service of the Khānkhānān, and is enrolled in that band of poets who are entitled gentlemen of the suite. In imitation of that qaṣīdah by Shaikh Niāmī of Ganja (may God rest his soul,) which begins,

“I am king of the kings of learning, by means of the excel-
lence of my grace of language
The earth and the age have taken on themselves the likeness
of the sky,”

he wrote the following qaṣīdah:—

“I can scarcely contain myself in my excellence when the
wine of my songs in its vat
Rends the clothes on my body, when sublime realities seethe
within me.
Waylay me not with foolish stories, for, with the fire of high
resolve.
I desire to raise* steam from my brain and my eyes through-
out the night.
I have become the trusted adviser of those who hasten towards
reunion (with the Beloved)
For I never return a boastful answer.
I am the dog of the threshold, but all night I gnaw my collar,
For the desire of hunting seizes me, not the intention of watch-
ing.”

The following verses also are by him:—

“Although for an age I have girt up my loins in thy service
what rank have I gained?
I should have become a Brahman had I so often girt myself ³⁷⁶
with the sacred thread.”

“I travel on a deadly road, not knowing to what end it may
lead.

How shall the foot which has travelled this road ever again
return to one's skirt?”
‘See the effects of my (burning) sigh, which has not yet
reached my lips,
And yet a thousand blisters from my heart are on the tip of
my tongue.”