HOW long, O burning heart,

Canst thou keep hidden! see how flames outstart,

And vapour from thy sighs

Will darken e’en the stars within the skies.

Driven by my love I must

Wander like Majnun, where the desert dust

Falls on his weary head,

Eternally for Leila doomed to shed

His unavailing tears.

The soul by Love enlightened never fears

The unseeing world that says

He must be mad who treads within Love’s ways;

But joyful he and wise,

For Love has given new vision to his eyes.

See, Makhfi, cruel Love,

How in his haughtiness he rides above

The hearts of men, how red

His sword with lovers’ blood that he has shed!