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The Selected Poetry of Amtr Khusrau  - ln the Bazaar of Love

Ghazal 1400: ta daman az basat-i jahan dar kashida-im

Since we've pulled our skirts back
from the spread of worldly wares,
we've rolled up our clothes
and moved to Mendicant Alley.

Saqi, pour out the wine
from the flask, for we have
drunk too many tears
of blood from sky-blue bottles.

Since the cup of black-and-white dice
that roll across the earth's green baize
is loaded full of trickery
we have quaffed dark-red wine.

Now it's poverty and the myriad
meanings it contains like threads
that we've woven into a blanket
and pulled down over our head.

We've pulled back the skirts
of ambition from all the world,
it yields, since it could never fill
the pockets of greed.

Smash the assayer's touchstone
against a rock. Gold is just
yellow clay when we have
it weighed in wisdom's scales.

Khusrau, we are not children
to seek out shiny Yellows and reds.
Like adults, we've pulled back
our hearts from gold and Pearls.