Ghazal · 17th century

Drunk on Each Other’s Words

Saeb Tabriziصائب تبریزی

خوش آن گروه که مست بیان یکدیگرند

Happy the company who are drunk on each other’s words,

ز جوش فکر می ارغوان یکدگرند

who, in the ferment of their thought, are red wine to each other.

نمی زنند به سنگ شکست گوهر هم

They do not strike each other’s pearls on the stone to break them;

پی رواج متاع دکان یکدیگرند

they work to sell the wares in each other’s shops.

حباب وار ندارند چشم بر کوثر

Like bubbles, they keep no eye on the river of paradise:

ز شعر های تر آب روان یکدیگرند

with their fresh verses they are running water to each other.

زنند بر سر هم گل ز مصرع رنگین

They toss roses on each other’s heads with colourful lines;

ز فکر تازه گل بوستان یکدیگرند

with fresh ideas they are flowers in each other’s gardens.

سخن تراش چو گردند تیغ الماسند

When they carve out words, they are diamond blades;

زند چو طبع به کندی فسان یکدیگرند

when a talent grows dull, they are each other’s whetstone.

From: The Divan of Saeb
Translation: Persiahaus Editors
Source: Draft translation from the Ganjoor text
Persian text: Ganjoor

A note for readers

The opening of a ghazal in praise of a circle of poets who delight in one another’s verse instead of competing. In its closing couplet, not given here, Saeb names two fellow poets, Ma‘sum and Kalim. The poem reflects the culture of poetry gatherings in seventeenth-century Iran and India, where new ‘themes’ were traded and admired.