When a Man Grows Old
Saeb Tabriziصائب تبریزی
آدمی پیر چو شد، حرص جوان می‌گردد
When a man grows old, his greed grows young,
خواب در وقت سحرگاه گران می‌گردد
as sleep grows heavy in the hour before dawn.
A note for readers
A single couplet of the kind for which Saeb is most famous: one striking comparison, here between the greed of old age and the deep sleep that comes just before waking. Couplets like this circulated on their own and became proverbs.
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.