-
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
of the excess of my passion and distraction (for another). I
looked at her and saw that she had two bandages on her head, one
on account of the wound on her forehead, and the other over her
eye, which pained her for excess of weeping; and she was in very
sorry plight, weeping and repeating the following verses:
I count the nights, night after night, the weary nights and slow;
Yet would I, once upon a time, unreckoned let them go.
I have no knowledge, O my friend, of that which God ordains Of
Leila or what He decrees to me, but this I know
He to another her adjudged and cursed me with her love: So hath
He not afflicted me with other than her woe.
When she had finished, she looked round and seeing me through her
tears, wiped them away and came up to me, but could not speak for
excess of emotion. So she was silent awhile, then said to me, O
my cousin, tell me what befell thee with her this time. So I
told her all that had passed, and she said, Be patient, for the
time of thy delight is come, and thou hast won to the attainment
of thy hopes. As for her sign with the mirror and the bag, it was
as if she said to thee, When the sun is set; and the letting
down of her hair over her face signified, When the night is come
and hath let fall the blackness of the dark and overmastered the
daylight, come hither. As for her gesture with the flower-pot
and the lamp, it meant, When thou comest, enter the garden
behind the street, and where as thou seest the lamp burning, go
thither and seat thyself beneath it and wait for me; for the love
of thee is killing me. When I heard this, I cried out for
excess of passion and said, How long wilt thou deceive me with
promises and I go to her, but get not my will nor find any truth
in thine interpreting? At this, she laughed and replied, Thou
needest but have patience for the rest of the day, till the light
depart and the night come with the darkness, and thou shalt enjoy
fruition and accomplish thy hopes. And indeed this is true
without leasing. And she repeated the following verses:
Let the days pass, as they list, and fare, And enter thou not the
house of despair.
Full oft when the quest of a thing is hard, The next hour brings
us the end of our care.
Then she came to me and began to comfort me with soothing words,
but dared not offer me food, fearing my wrath and seeking to make
me incline to her: so she only took off my upper garment and said
to me, Sit, O my cousin, that I may entertain thee with talk,
till the end of the day; and God willing, thou shalt be with thy
beloved as soon as it is night. But I paid no heed to her and
gave not over looking for the coming of the night, saying, O
149
Lord, hasten the coming of the night! till the hour of the
evening-prayer, when she wept sore and giving me a grain of pure
musk, said to me, O my cousin, put this in thy mouth, and when
thou foregatherest with thy beloved and hast taken thy will of
her and she hath granted thee thy desire, repeat to her this
verse:
Tell me, O lovers, for God s sake, I do entreat of you, When love
is sore upon a maid, alack! what shall she do?
And she kissed me and made me swear not to repeat this to my
mistress, till I should be about to leave her. Then I went out
and walked on till I came to the garden. I found the door open;
so I entered, and seeing a light in the distance, made towards it
and came to a great pavilion, vaulted over with a dome of ivory
and ebony, from the midst of which hung the lamp. The floor was
spread with silken carpets, embroidered in gold and silver, and
under the lamp stood a great candle, burning in a stand of gold.
Midmost the pavilion was a fountain, adorned with all manner of
figures; and by it stood a table of food, covered with a silken
napkin, and a great porcelain vase full of wine, with a goblet of
crystal, sprayed with gold. Near these was a great covered dish
of silver, which I uncovered and found therein fruits of all
kinds, figs and pomegranates and grapes and oranges and citrons
and shaddocks, together with all manner sweet-scented flowers,
such as roses and jasmine and myrtle and eglantine and narcissus
and all kinds of sweet-smelling herbs; but I saw there not a
living soul, no, not even a slave, male or female, to guard these
things. I was transported with delight at what I saw, and my
grief and anxiety ceased from me. So I sat down to await the
coming of the beloved of my heart: but the first hour of the
night passed by, and the second and the third, and still she came
not. Then I grew sore an hungred, for that it was long since I
had tasted food by reason of the violence of my passion: but when
I found the garden even as my cousin had told me and saw the
truth of her interpretation of my mistress s signs, my mind was
set at rest and I made sure of attaining my desire, so that
nature resumed its sway and I felt the pangs of hunger. Moreover
the odour of the viands on the table excited in me a longing to
eat: so I went up to the table, and lifting the cover, found in
the middle a porcelain dish, containing four fricasseed fowls,
seasoned with spices, round which were four smaller dishes, one
containing sweetmeats, another conserve of pomegranate-seeds, a
third almond patties and a fourth honey fritters, and the
contents of these dishes were part sweet and part acid. So I ate
of the fritters and a piece of meat, then went on to the almond
patties and ate what I would of them; after which I attacked the
sweetmeats, of which I ate a spoonful or two or three or four,
ending with part of a fowl and a mouthful of bread. With this my
stomach became full and my limbs heavy and I grew drowsy; so I
150
laid my head on a cushion, after having washed my hands, and
sleep overcame me; and I knew not what happened to me after this
nor did I awake till the sun s heat burnt me, for that I had not
tasted sleep for days. When I awoke, I found myself lying on the
naked marble, with a piece of salt and another of charcoal on my
stomach; so I stood up and shook my clothes and turned right and
left, but could see no one. At this I was perplexed and
afflicted; the tears ran down my cheeks and I mourned grievously
for myself. Then I returned home, and when I entered, I found my
cousin beating her bosom and weeping like the rain-clouds, as she
repeated the following verses:
From out my loved one s land a breeze blows cool and sweet: The
fragrance of its wafts stirs up the ancient heat.
Blow, zephyr of the East! Each lover hath his lot, His
heaven-appointed doom of fortune or defeat.
Lo, if we might, we would embrace thee for desire, Even as a
lover clips his mistress, when they meet.
Whenas my cousin s face is absent, God forbids All pleasance
[unto me] and all life has of sweet.
Ah, would I knew his heart was even as is mine, All wasted and
consumed by passion s flaming feet!
When she saw me, she rose in haste and wiping away her tears,
accosted me with her soft speech, saying, O my cousin, verily
God hath been gracious to thee in thy love, in that she whom thou
lovest loves thee, whilst I pass my time in weeping and lamenting
my separation from thee that blamest and chidest me; but may God [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
- doc.pisz.pl
- pdf.pisz.pl
- zambezia2013.opx.pl