Man is a cup, his soul the wine therein,
Flesh is a pipe, spirit the voice within;
O Khayyam, have you fathomed what man is?
A magic lantern with a light therein!
O skyey wheel, all base men you supply
With baths, mills, and canals that run not dry,
While good men have to pawn their goods for bread:
Pray, who would give a fig for such a sky?
492. B. L. In line 3 I read nih and for nihand, which will not scan. Line 4 is slightly paraphrased.
A potter at his work I chanced to see,
Pounding some earth and shreds of pottery;
I looked with eyes of insight, and methought
'Twas Adam's dust with which he made so free!
493. C. L. A. I. J. Note the arrangement of the prepositions bar . . bazer. Bl., Prosody, xiii.
The Saki knows my genus properly,
To all woe's species he holds a key,
Whene'er my mood is sad, he brings me wine,
And that makes all the difference to me!