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From Parliament of the Birds – Fariduddin Attar
The Song of the Nightingale

‘I know the secrets of love," he said.

"Throughout the night I give my love call. I myself teach the secrets;
it is my song which is the lament of the mystic flute, and which the lute wails.
It is I who set the Rose in motion, and move the hearts of lovers.

Continuously I teach new mysteries, each moment new notes of sadness, like the waves of the sea.
Whoever hears me loses his wits in rapture, contrary to his normal way.
When I am long bereft of my love the Rose, I lament unceasingly. . . .
And when the Rose returns to the world in Summer, I open my heart to joy.
My secrets are not known to all - but the Rose knows them.
I think of nothing but the Rose;
I wish nothing but the ruby Rose.

"To reach the Simurgh, that is beyond me - the love of the Rose is enough for the nightingale.
It is for me that she flowers. . . .
Can the nightingale live but one night without the Beloved?"