Layli and Majnun Read online

  The dust upon his father’s grave grew wet;

  How he embraced the dust he clung to there,

  Then poured and smeared it on his head and hair

  Until, worn out and feverish, he lay

  Upon the ground as night imprisoned day.

  How much he’d suffered—one who from his first

  Short steps had been a prisoner and accursed

  (Whoever he may be, a man resembles

  An orphan when fear traps him, and he trembles);

  Suffering an orphan’s and a prisoner’s fate,

  He was reduced now to this desperate state.

  He writhed and twisted, wishing he could find

  A friend there with a sympathetic mind,

  But no one came in whom he could confide,

  There was no friend to make him turn aside

  From all this grief, and so he wept so much

  The tear-soaked earth grew sodden to the touch.

  He cried, “O father, where have you now gone?

  You’ve shown no sign to your tormented son—

  Where can I seek you, find the love you taught me?

  Who can I speak to of the grief you’ve brought me?

  You found it best to have no son, descended

  Into the ground, and so your life was ended—

  For me though there is only bitterness

  Now I’ve become this new thing—fatherless!

  I cry for help, but who can I cry to

  Since help has always come to me from you?

  You were my friend, my ally, and the source

  Of all my heart’s vitality and force;

  You taught me what is right, you sympathized

  With all I sought and suffered and devised;

  I’ll be a phantom without you, no one,

  Alas that I am here and you have gone.

  Don’t use your absence as my punishment,

  I am ashamed enough and I repent,

  Ah, how I blame myself, and weep and rave

  When I recall the good advice you gave—

  You were the happy trainer, I the colt

  Who’d bridle at the bridle and then bolt,

  You were an earring fastened to my ear

  With gentle guidance I refused to hear;

  I was unmoved by all your kind advice,

  You were so warm, and I as cold as ice.

  I never spoke the words you wished I’d spoken

  Or lay beside you till the dawn had broken,

  But in a hundred different ways I hurt you

  While I went wandering, happy to desert you;

  You were my pillow, but I spurned all sleep

  To gad about, and stay awake, and weep;

  You had prepared a feast for me, I fled

  And fell, and broken boulders were my bed;

  Your prayed for me, to no effect; I planted

  A fruit tree whose sweet fruit I wasn’t granted.

  Now I remember your kindheartedness

  And every moment deepens my distress;

  I’ll wear dark blue, I’ll weep a Nile for you,93

  And bruised and blind,94 I’ll be both black and blue.

  O my dear father, oh, what have I done?

  A thousand pains are heaped upon your son.

  I hurt you, O my father, and if I

  Am not forgiven by you, I must die—

  May all my sins and my iniquity

  Be overlooked and not redound on me.

  You are my star, shine on me, don’t forget me,

  And solve for me the problems that beset me—

  Pardon your slave, I fear that if you sever

  Forgiveness from me I’ll be lost forever!

  You said I am your vitals, your bones’ marrow,

  Are you to shoot me with your anger’s arrow?

  And is your wrath to roast me now like meat?

  If I’m your vitals, it’s yourself you’ll eat,

  If my blood’s shed in this, then yours is too,

  If I’m to roast in fire, then so will you,

  And if I’ve sinned against you, I am caught

  And punished by the ugly sins I’ve wrought.

  I was the foolish child who never hears

  His father’s words, and so you boxed my ears,

  As I deserved.” He wept, and was all tears and sighs,

  Turning the day dark with his piteous cries,

  Beating the drum of sorrow, until night

  Descended and dispelled the day’s last light.

  *

  The moon moved into Pisces and the night

  Was like a black shell brimming with its light,

  Its radiance flooded from the shell, a flow

  Of bright pearls scattered on the world below,

  And Majnun’s eyes, as dark as that black shell,

  Scattered their pearls upon the world as well.

  Seated beside his father’s grave till morning,

  Majnun sang threnodies of grief and mourning,

  From end to end it was as though this dust

  Were now the only home that he could trust;

  As if he drank deep draughts there through the night,

  He bowed his head until the morning light.

  A new day dawned, and from the mountainside

  Dawn’s banner streamed out as the darkness died,

  And like a wondrous alchemist—behold,

  The morning light transformed earth’s dust to gold.

  Majnun, that thing of earth, weeping in pain

  Set off across the earth to Najd again—

  He wept, but this time all the tears he shed

  Were not for someone loved but someone dead.

  Each labored, bitter breath he drew distressed him,

  A hundred thousand agonies possessed him,

  And as he traveled on his tortuous way

  His day seemed night, and night was turned to day.

  Majnun Among the Animals

  This is the way the lord of eloquence

  Resumed his telling of this sweet romance:

  *

  Majnun, that basil in a barren land,95

  His pillow stones, his tablecloth dry sand,

  Still grieving for his father, always questing,

  Crossed over plains and mountains, never resting.

  One day he passed through country not far from

  The place where Layli’s people made their home

  And saw a piece of paper lying there

  On which two words were written as a pair—

  Layli–Majnun. He picked it up and ripped

  The scrap in half, dividing up the script

  And then destroying half; he kept the bit

  That had his name, Majnun, inscribed on it.

  Some bystanders reproached him: “Why did you

  Tear them like that? Why separate these two?”

  Majnun replied, “The writing showed a pair—

  Lovers are one, just one name should be there;

  Look at a lover truly—you’ll discover

  That both are there, the loved one and the lover.”

  “But you kept your name, not her name,” they said.

  “Isn’t it better to keep hers instead?”

  He said, “I shouldn’t be the one within,

  Invisible, while she’s the outer skin;

  I ought to be her veil and hide her well,

  She is the hidden pith, I’m just the shell.”96

  *

  He left the bystanders, like Rabe’eh,97

  Impatient to be on his wandering way,

  Singing his love song
s since he knew they brought

  The medicine that his desperate sorrows sought.

  He was a wild man now, the bonds that tied

  Him to society were cast aside,

  He sought out isolated desert places

  And roots and leaves for food, in green oases,

  And animals, but not to trap or eat them,

  Rather to live with them, and gently greet them,

  And humbly, like a servant, he drew near

  The animals he found there, lions or deer,

  Whatever beasts he saw, he was the same,

  Their lowly servitor in all but name,

  Till lions and deer and wolves and foxes soon

  Seemed like an army summoned by Majnun,

  And they became his servants, flocking round him,

  And as their own King Solomon they crowned him.98

  Majnun was not much more than skin and bone

  But hungry vultures left their lord alone

  And over him, with eagles, spread their wings

  As parasols are opened over kings;

  Wolves did not trouble sheep, and lions kept

  Their talons from wild asses as they slept,

  Wild dogs and rabbits were at peace, among

  A pride of lions deer could nurse their young;

  Majnun was safe, as if his life were charmed,

  And mingling with them he was never harmed.

  At night, a vixen swished her tail and swept

  His sleeping area clean before he slept,

  A deer came, and with dexterous holds and moves

  Massaged his legs with her four tiny hooves,

  His head and body were supported by

  An ass’s neck and a gazelle’s plump thigh,

  A lion knelt beside him like a sentry

  Whose drawn sword would permit no others entry,

  A lurking wolf kept watch too, prowling round

  On guard to keep his master safe and sound,

  The leopard skin on which he lay seemed like

  A living leopard that’s prepared to strike.

  He seemed, surrounded by his followers,

  A king encircled by his warriors,

  And no one feared that some bloodthirsty beast

  Would eye his body as a helpless feast.

  Any who seemed like enemies were soon

  Disposed of by these guardians of Majnun,

  And no one dared to hurt or give offense

  To those to whom he granted audience,

  And friend or stranger no one could come near

  Unless his order rang out, loud and clear.

  He healed the wounded in his retinue

  Tending them as kindhearted shepherds do,

  But he was savage to all savage men,

  Having no wish to mix with them again.

  Among the fawns around him there was one

  Whose nature was all play and prancing fun,

  Skittish and agile, prompt to dodge and jump,

  She had a graceful neck, a fleshy rump—

  Majnun loved all the fawns, both big and small,

  But this one was his favorite of them all;

  He’d call her to him when she shied and fled,

  And he was always stroking her smooth head,

  Each day he’d kiss her eyes with heartfelt sighs

  Since they reminded him of Layli’s eyes.

  Men were amazed to see how meek and mild

  These beasts were that were normally so wild,

  And travelers came each day to stop and make

  A gift of foodstuffs for devotion’s sake;99

  Majnun sat on a lion’s back to greet them,

  Alarming them as he rode out to meet them,

  And ate a little of the food they brought,

  Then gave the rest to his attentive court.

  In every passing season he made sure

  His animals were well provided for

  And they in turn bowed down to him, agreeing

  That he’d become the source of their well-being,

  And since self-interest made them all respect him

  They trailed him always, anxious to protect him.

  Kindness to all creation will preserve you,

  And free men will be slaves who long to serve you.

  A Tale

  I heard that once, according to a story,

  There was a king of Marv who reigned in glory;

  He kept a pack of dogs chained up, fierce, savage,

  Demonic animals, disposed to ravage

  Whatever they encountered—in a fight

  They’d tear a camel’s head off with one bite;

  And when the king was angry he’d condemn

  The miscreant to be consigned to them—

  They were the gory means of the removal

  Of anyone who lost the king’s approval.

  Among the king’s companions there was one

  Who was accomplished, elegant, and young

  But also frightened that one day he might

  Become abhorrent in his sovereign’s sight.

  He thought he’d go and see the dogs, and show them

  Just who he was, and slowly get to know them;

  He feared the dogs, but made friends with the men

  Who fed them and had access to their pen,

  And afterward, each day, he threw sheep’s meat

  Before the slavering dogs, for them to eat,

  And gradually these savage beasts became,

  For him at least, calm, tractable, and tame;

  His openhandedness meant that they’d greet

  Him happily and lie down at his feet.

  *

  One day the king in fury turned against

  The young man; now beside himself, incensed,

  He ordered that the wretched youth be thrown

  Straight to the dogs; his sycophants had grown

  More dog-like than the dogs, and cruelly seized

  Their victim to ensure their king was pleased.

  They trussed him up, and pushed him through the gate

  Into the pen, and left him to his fate.

  At first the dogs crouched, ready to attack,

  And snarled and growled at him . . . but then drew back,

  They’d recognized their friend, and came around him

  Wagging their tales, delighted to have found him,

  As if they were his nurse and he their child;

  They nuzzled at his hands, no longer wild,

  And sat beside him, keeping watch all night

  Until the first signs of the morning light.

  *

  The next day dawned; night’s dusky silken veil

  Turned to a dazzling gold, and then grew pale.

  The king regretted last night’s deed, and blamed

  Himself for what he’d done, and felt ashamed.

  He said to his companions, “I was foolish,

  What was I dreaming of to be so mulish

  As to destroy a youth whose company

  Always diverted and delighted me?

  See what my murderous dogs have done to him—

  They must have torn the poor lad limb from limb.”

  The dog’s chief keeper came before the king

  And said, “You majesty, a wondrous thing

  Has happened to that man who’s not a man,

  Who must be more a heavenly angel than

  A human being; come yourself and see

  The power of God’s redeeming clemency—

  He sits surrounded by your dogs, their paws

  Caress him, and affection’s locked th
eir jaws;

  Your wolfish dogs have not disturbed, I swear,

  Upon that young man’s head a single hair.”

  *

  Courtiers were promptly ordered then to bring

  The lost young prisoner quickly to the king;

  They scurried off and solemnly they brought

  The young man from the dog pen to the court.

  The king stared at him, wondering and relieved

  To see unhurt the man for whom he’d grieved.

  He stood and wept and asked time after time

  For absolution for his wicked crime,

  Then said, “How is it that you still draw breath

  And stand here when you were condemned to death?”

  The young man said, “For some time I’ve been giving

  Your dogs fresh meat, and that’s why I’m still living,

  For those few scraps I gave them they behaved

  So lovingly to me that I was saved.

  Ten years I was your slave, and now we’ve learned

  Exactly what my years of service earned—

  You threw me to your dogs for one offense,

  But dogs don’t eat their friends, they have more sense!

  Your dogs became my allies, you accused me,

  And they were kind to me, while you abused me.

  A bone contents a dog, but men reach higher

  And it’s your soul itself that they require.”

  And when the king had heard him out he knew

  What was the right and human thing to do;

  The drunkard was now sober and commanded

  The business of his dogs to be disbanded.

  *

  My point in telling you this tale’s to make you

  See kindness guards you well, and won’t forsake you;

  By feeding his wild friends, Majnun erected

  A wall by which his life would be protected;

  Those whose good deeds protect them find a fence

  Surrounds them as a firmly fixed defense,

  And whether active or at rest or sleeping,

  They’re always in their followers’ safe-keeping,

  And if you act as this youth acted, you

  Will be secure from worldly suffering too;

  A caliph, once he’s dined with you, will waive

  His status and become your grateful slave.

  A Description of Night; Majnun’s Invocation to the Heavens

  The night was bright as day, the skies as glowing

  As gardens are when spring’s new growth is showing,

  And hung with stars the shining heavens revolved

  Resplendent in their sheen of glittering gold.