Layli and Majnun Read online

  He made for lands that Layli’s tribe ruled over,

  Until at last he caught the longed-for scent

  Of human presence, or a settlement.

  He sat, and pressed his hand against his side

  And like a weakened man who’s almost died

  But then revives again, he caught his breath

  And sang like one who has evaded death.

  He saw an ancient woman then, who had

  A wanderer with her who appeared quite mad,

  And whom the hurrying woman held in check

  By a long rope she’d tied around his neck,

  And chains festooned him head to foot, though he

  Seemed happy in what looked like misery;

  The woman scurried forward, pulling on

  The rope as if to make her prisoner run,

  And seeing this, Majnun was horrified—

  “For God’s sake, woman, don’t do that!” he cried.

  “Who is this man? Whatever did he do

  That he should be chained up like this by you?”

  “If it’s the facts you want,” the woman said,

  “He’s not a crazy madman to be led

  Around in chains like this, and truth to tell

  Neither does he deserve a prison cell.71

  I am a widow, and my friend here’s poor,

  It’s need that’s made us wander door to door—

  Chained up like this, folk think he’s mad, and give

  Us scraps of this and that on which to live.

  Whatever we receive I always see

  Donations are divided equally—

  There’s half for him and half for me, not one

  Last crumb remains uneaten when we’re done.”

  Majnun fell at her feet, as though he were

  A bird with broken wings entreating her,

  And cried, “Take off your friend’s chains, set him free,

  Take me now as your prisoner, chain up me;

  Your friend does not deserve those chains—I do,

  It’s me who should be led around by you;

  I’m really mad, I’m crazy, I don’t care

  Where you might drag me—here, there, anywhere!

  And any alms that we might get I swear

  They’re wholly yours, I won’t demand my share.”

  And when she’d grasped what he’d proposed to her

  The woman couldn’t have been happier.

  She undid all the chains—her friend was freed—

  And tied Majnun up just as they’d agreed,

  Binding him well, and lastly making sure

  The knot about his neck was quite secure.

  Then she set off, and forced Majnun to run

  From place to place, hurrying him on and on,

  And men came out to see him everywhere;

  Some laughed at him, some wept to see him there;

  The ignorant and careless laughed, the wise

  Wiped brimming tears from sympathetic eyes

  While he himself seemed unaffected by

  The chains and wounds that made them laugh or cry.

  As they drew near to campsites, he would start

  To sing of Layli and his broken heart,

  Then wildly dance before each tent they found

  Until he stumbled on the stony ground,

  And once near Layli’s neighborhood he caught

  A subtle fragrance that the breezes brought,

  And sat there in the dust, convinced this scent

  Was wafted on the wind from Layli’s tent,

  And like rain-laden clouds when spring appears

  He wept into the soil his endless tears

  And beat his head against the ground and cried,

  “We’re separate, but in grief we’re side by side,

  And I’d be guiltier if I should be

  Freed from these shackles that imprison me.

  I’m chained like this because my actions ended

  In guilt for something that was unintended,

  Which was that you were hurt, and I submit

  To any punishment that you see fit—

  Despite my weapons, and the war I fought,

  I stand here as a prisoner whom you’ve caught.

  It was your tribe’s terrain that I attacked

  But it’s myself I wounded by this act,

  And if my wayward feet sinned then, look how

  My neck is yoked with chains and shackles now;

  The hand that loosed those arrows aches with pain,

  Broken and useless, twisted by a chain,

  And for the sin that I committed I’ve

  Suffered so much I’m scarcely still alive.

  Don’t leave me in this state you see before you,

  If you’re to kill me, do it, I implore you!

  I grow from you, uproot me, don’t deny me,

  Hammer four nails in me, and crucify me.

  Your loyalty has shamed my treachery,

  Your innocence my infidelity,

  It’s I who’ve sinned against you, and the sin

  That I convict myself of lies within.

  You must be faithful now, don’t hesitate,

  The sin is yours now if you vacillate,

  Don’t wish me a long life, don’t praise or bless me,

  Don’t think to wish me well now or caress me,

  My hope is that you’ll kill me, that you’ll find

  Some cause to do this somewhere in your mind.

  If you should draw your sword against me, I

  Shall gladly sacrifice myself and die,

  I’ll be like Esma’il, rather than be

  A brute convicted of apostasy.72

  My heart’s resplendent candle will still shine

  If you remove this foolish head of mine—

  A candle’s head must hurt, it’s always burning,

  So snuff it out, and pacify its yearning;

  Better I die before you than survive

  Bereft of you, in pain, but still alive.

  Since there’s no way that I can reach you, I

  Shall choose some corner, and sit there and sigh,

  Grieving alone so that I won’t remind you

  Of all my pain, and I shan’t try to find you.

  May you rejoice unhurt, and may there be

  Grief from now on for me and only me.”

  Then when he’d spoken, he exerted all

  His strength and felt his fetters snap, and fall—

  At once he leaped free from his broken chains

  And like an arrow sped across the plains;

  Wild in his madness now, he wept and cried

  Until he reached a barren mountainside,

  And made his way to Najd, traveling alone

  While never ceasing to lament and moan.

  *

  Not knowing that he’d no wish to be seen

  His family sought him everywhere he’d been;

  But when they met him, both his parents knew

  That there was nothing useful they could do.

  He answered randomly; they left him there

  And traveled home defeated by despair.

  Majnun thought only now of Layli’s name,

  And towns or ruins were to him the same;

  And when another name than hers was said

  He beat himself, or fell asleep, or fled.

  Layli’s Father Gives Her to Ebn Salam

  The diver for bright pearls of meaning spread

  His pearls before his audience, and said:

  *

  When Nofal won his battle, Layli heard

 
In detail everything that had occurred

  And whispered to herself, “How glorious,

  The man I love has been victorious!”

  But then her father without more ado

  Came in to her, his turban all askew,

  And told her of the trick that he had played

  With all the smooth talk of his long tirade:

  “Ah, what a fine show I put on today,

  I’ve saved us from that madman, come what may;

  I listened to their claims, disputed them,

  And at a single stroke refuted them.

  Nofal is finished, he’s been shown the door

  And won’t be coming back here any more;

  As for Majnun, he’s gone off who knows where,

  And won’t come courting now, he wouldn’t dare.

  Thank God that such a suitor’s gone for good

  And everything has turned out as it should!”

  But Layli, hearing what her father said,

  Felt only boundless misery and dread;

  She hid her grief from him, and silently

  Heaved desperate heartfelt sighs, but inwardly.

  *

  Her father left, and her narcissus eyes73

  Grew rose-red with their weeping; piteous cries

  Accompanied her tears that flowed pell-mell

  As though they’d lay the dust on which they fell,

  And seeing they were both lost equally74

  She bit her hands and arms unceasingly,

  While blood-red tears stained both her face and clothes

  Like Judas blossoms or a crimson rose.

  There was no friend in whom she could confide,

  And she was helpless, as though caught inside

  A wicker cage, twisting and turning there

  Like a trapped snake that’s injured in a snare,

  While breezes blew her scent from place to place

  Like whispering harbingers of her sweet face.

  Gossip about her spread throughout the land

  And eager suitors came to seek her hand;

  Chieftains and princes, wealthy merchants vied

  To claim this wondrous beauty as their bride,

  A thousand marriage brokers said no pearl

  Could be as precious as this lovely girl—

  One suitor thought of wedding rites, one of

  The honeyed sweetness that is found in love,

  And all the while her father thought it best

  To hide her like a pearl placed in a chest,

  To keep her silver body safe, alone,

  To shield her honor’s glass from every stone.75

  *

  She drank wine outwardly, but inwardly

  All that she drank was grief and misery,

  She seemed to be a smiling candle while

  She burned like melting wax beneath her smile;

  She seemed a budding rose, in truth her life

  Was like a lamp beneath which lurked a knife—

  Her manner was all smiles and welcoming

  While inwardly she feared what Fate would bring.

  She was the glorious moon surrounded by

  A hundred planets scattered in the sky.

  *

  When Ebn Salam heard of these rivalries

  He thought at once of former promises,

  And went with dignity and stately pride

  To claim and welcome Layli as his bride.

  He brought such gifts it seemed they’d never cease,76

  Ass-loads of rubies, sugar, ambergris,

  The finest musk that musk deer ever made,

  And camel-loads of carpets and brocade;

  On every kind of mount men could conceive

  He brought more gifts than men could well believe.

  He gave gold fine enough to start a war

  And poured it out like sand grains on a shore,

  Scattering the grains with such a generous hand

  The mound collapsed like houses built on sand.

  *

  For two whole days he rested, then he sent

  His messenger, a man so eloquent

  He could have shamed a stone with his quick wit,

  Making it malleable and softening it—

  His talk, like Jesus’s reviving breath,

  Could bring a soul back from the point of death.77

  The messenger brought gifts from far away,

  From distant Rome and from remote Cathay,

  And placed within the tribal treasury

  The treasures that he gave so generously,

  Then opened with the key of speech the lid

  Beneath which more persuasive treasures hid.

  He said, “Behold my lion prince, the sure

  Defender of our warriors in war,

  The noblest Arab sheikh, whose worldly treasure

  Exceeds all computation and all measure;

  If you want blood, like water he will pour it,

  If you want gold, like sand he’ll sift and store it,

  With him come all the comforts you’ll require,

  From him come all the judgments you’ll desire.”

  And with his talk the messenger succeeded

  In softening Layli’s father, who conceded

  The promise of betrothal he had made,

  And swore his promise wouldn’t be betrayed,

  That he was ready now, by nuptial laws,

  To place the moon within the dragon’s jaws.78

  *

  Dawn broke, when heaven’s bride79 began to shine

  And lifted Jamshid’s goblet80 brimmed with wine,

  And night’s Arabian dark was nullified

  In favor of day’s pallid Russian bride.

  Once Layli’s father finished with adorning

  The streets and markets for the wedding morning,

  He called the bridegroom and his guests inside

  Into the presence of the waiting bride

  Where celebrations for the wedding day

  Were happily and briskly under way.

  Following the Arab custom, in the room

  The bride was seated now beside her groom;

  And then, as ritual required, once more

  They swore the marriage oath agreed before.

  The bridal price was settled then and there

  And storms of coins rained down upon the pair—

  Sugar was ground and sprinkled,81 sandalwood

  And sugar burned together as they should,

  While from sweet Layli’s lips a sigh as burning

  Betrayed as fragrantly her hidden yearning;

  Her harsh rosewater tears brought no relief

  As she exhaled the scented breath of grief,

  Her ruby mouth breathed fragrant fiery sighs

  While rosewater descended from her eyes.

  All that could be prepared for her was done

  While all that she’d prepared for once was gone;

  How close to her parched lips the cup had seemed—

  It broke, and with it all that she had dreamed.

  *

  Step on a thorn and it will disconcert you,

  And fire put in your mouth will surely hurt you,

  A limb that is rebellious won’t submit

  To any orders that you issue it;

  Someone who goes against her tribe will be

  An outcast soul in perpetuity—

  Severing a finger bitten by a snake

  Becomes the best precaution you can take;

  One must accept reverses, since defying

  What comes one’s way is tantamount to
dying.

  The world knew Layli as a wondrous creature,

  But death would come from her defiant nature;

  She’d gained a princely lamp; but in her sight

  The lamp she longed for was the morning light.

  *

  When dawning sunlight struck night’s purple tent

  Pink stained the Tigris and the firmament,

  And then the happy groom brought for his bride

  A curtained litter all bejeweled inside,

  And when she’d entered it, his camel train

  Set off auspiciously across the plain.

  His realm was hers, he said; his choices were

  Whatever she decided to prefer.

  For two or three more days he gently tried

  To soften into wax his virtuous bride,

  Then he grew bold in seeking out the prize

  Of sweetly ripened fruit before his eyes—

  He sought sweet dates, but they were well defended

  By thorns that scratched the hand that he extended;

  The shock of this so disconcerted him

  That for a few days sleep deserted him—

  Indeed, the blow that Layli struck had rendered

  His will as weak as someone’s who’s surrendered.

  She said to him,“If you try that again

  I’ll wipe your name out from the ranks of men;

  I’ve sworn by God, and His supremacy,

  By Him who made the man I love and me,

  I won’t submit to you, you have my word,

  Not if you shed my blood now with your sword!”

  And Ebn Salam saw that her oath implied

  All hope of happiness for him had died;

  He was her husband, but another light

  Than his illumined Layli’s day and night.

  Though when it came to leaving her, he knew

  That this was something he could never do,

  His heart was hers, he had to be assured

  That he could see the full moon he adored.

  He thought, “Now that I’ve learned of how things are

  It’s better that I see her from afar,

  To lose all sight of her would sorely grieve me,

  Better a stolen glance than that she leave me.”

  He wept, and begged forgiveness, and admitted

  It was a dreadful sin that he’d committed;

  He said, “I’ll only look at you; if I

  Do more than this, then I deserve to die.”

  There would be no persuading or pursuing her—

  From that time on, to look was all his wooing her.

  *

  That lovely garden, and that lamp that glowed82

  And lit the budding roses, watched the road,