My Teeth Have Worn Away
Rudakiرودکی
مرا بسود و فرو ریخت هر چه دندان بود
Worn away and fallen out is every tooth I had;
نبود دندان، لابل چراغ تابان بود
they were not mere teeth, but shining lamps.
سپید سیم زده بود و در و مرجان بود
White they were, like beaten silver, pearl and coral;
ستارهٔ سحری بود و قطره باران بود
they were the morning star, and drops of rain.
یکی نماند کنون زان همه، بسود و بریخت
Not one of them is left now; all wore away and fell.
چه نحس بود! همانا که نحس کیوان بود
What ill luck it was! Surely the ill luck of Saturn.
نه نحس کیوان بود و نه روزگار دراز
It was not Saturn’s ill luck, nor the length of years:
چو بود؟ منت بگویم: قضای یزدان بود
what was it, then? I will tell you: the decree of God.
A note for readers
The opening of Rudaki’s qasida on old age, in which the aged poet moves from the loss of his teeth to memories of the pleasures and fame of his youth. Saturn was the planet of misfortune in Persian astrology. The poem continues for many more couplets; the excerpt gives the first four.
More poemsشعرهای دیگر
یک عمر می‌توان سخن از زلف یار گفت
در بند آن مباش که مضمون نمانده است
One could speak for a lifetime of the beloved’s tresses;
do not fret that there are no themes left.
A Lifetime on the Beloved’s Tresses
بلبلی برگ گلی خوش رنگ در منقار داشت
و اندر آن برگ و نوا خوش ناله‌های زار داشت
A nightingale held in its beak a rose petal of lovely colour,
and with that petal and its song it made sweet, piteous laments.
A nightingale held a rose petal
ستاره ای بدرخشید و ماه مجلس شد
دل رمیده ما را رفیق و مونس شد
A star shone out and became the moon of the gathering,
became friend and companion to our startled heart.