Ghazal XXIV

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!