XXXIV: Were there any chance of thy exhortations taking…

Were there any chance of thy exhortations taking effect on me,
Then, O monitor! unto me, thou wouldst have given admonition.

Love hath made my eyes more wanton, even, than the locust's,
Whilst thou, unjustly, stirrest about in them the rubbish of advice.

I had not been o'erwhelm'd to this degree, in the ocean of grief,
Had admonition, whether little or much, into my heart entered.

Like as the state of the dead, past all remedy, becometh;
So the heart, by love despoiled and ravaged, giveth not ear to advice.

When, O counsellor! will they become acceptable unto lovers--
These monk-and-hermit-approved expostulations of thine?

From counsel, what alleviation doth the poor lover obtain?
To the snake-and-scorpion-stung, what availeth admonition?

'Midst the uproar and tumult of the assembly of reprobates,
Can a secret and whispered homily, at any time, be heard?

Love hath ever condemned me to far worse punishment,
Whenever I have listened, the admonitions of others unto.

I will not then, O mentor! unto thy counsels give ear;
For, as fate will have it, I, Hamid, hold advice unlucky.