For lovers, indeed, no excuse is clear, ✿ Save excuse of sight and excuse of eye.
Then he walked on a little and came to a goodly cage, than which was no goodlier there, and in it a culver of the forest, that is to say, a wood-pigeon,[[63]] the bird renowned among birds as the minstrel of love-longing, with a collar of jewels about its neck marvellous fine and fair. He considered it awhile and, seeing it absently brooding in its cage, he shed tears and repeated these couplets:—
O culver of copse,[[64]] with salams I greet; ✿ O brother of lovers who woe must weet!
I love a gazelle who is slender-slim, ✿ Whose glances for keenness the scymitar beat:
For her love are my heart and my vitals a-fire, ✿ And my frame consumes in love’s fever-heat.
The sweet taste of food is unlawful for me, ✿ And forbidden is slumber, unlawfullest sweet.
Endurance and solace have travelled from me, ✿ And love homes in my heart and grief takes firm seat:
How shall life deal joy when they flee my sight ✿ Who are joy and gladness and life and sprite?
As soon as Uns al-Wujud had ended his verse——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-seventh Night,