XIII: Draw near, and behold him now, with a…

Draw near, and behold him now, with a clod beneath his head,
Who could not sleep upon a bed, without a pillow of feathers!

This, which they call the transient world, hath no existence, and is naught;
For this reason, O foolish man! 'tis hideous in the sight of the wise.

This world is a scabby sheep--then what good is there in keeping it?
The shepherd, when he findeth out its scabbiness, expelleth it from the flock.

Is this a tempest or hail-storm, that both standing corn and stacks also go?
Out upon such a corn-field as this, since an ear of corn can not be found!

With these eyes of mine, I have beheld the noble and massive structures of kings,
Who coveted the world's dominion, but left them, all at once, behind!

A hundred thousand squadrons assemble, and collect the treasures of the world;
Be as Sanjar for a few generations, and then neither thou nor thy race remain.

Thy house is on the face of a flood, and this thy contemptible idea is still worse;
For no one would there his dwelling make, that it should be swept by the flood away.

Shouldst thou become a Shahdad in the world, still calamity will remember thee;
And if here thou a Paradise preparest, of what profit is such an Aden to thee?

He carried away along with him, this wealth ephemeral, O young man!
Who diffused it broadcast; but not they, that heaped it up for themselves.

I have beheld fortune's practices--its different usages and ways--
It clambereth unto thee with difficulty; but like a stone from a mountain, rolleth away!

If thou art foolish and imprudent, like unto Mir-baz pursue it;
But if wise and prudent, like unto Khushhal, from it flee away!