How oft hast thou proven thyself a succour and shield from the
foe, When the arrows and javelins of war flew thick in the
midst of the fray!
I see that this world's but a cheat and a vanity after all, And
ever to seek out the Truth all creatures desire and essay!
The Lord of the Empyrean vouchsafe thee in heaven to dwell And
the Guide assign thee therein a goodly sojourn, I pray!
I bid thee adieu with a sigh and I see, for the loss of thee, The
East and the West o'ershadowed with mourning and dismay.
When the Vizier had finished, he wept sore, and the tears fell
from his eyes, like a network of pearls. Then came forward one of
Sherkan's boon-companions, weeping till his eyes resembled
rivers, and recalled the dead man's noble qualities, reciting the
following cinquains:
Where be thy giving, alas! and the hand of thy bounty fled? They
lie in the earth, and my body is wasted for drearihead.
O guide of the camel-litters,[FN#118] (may God still gladden thy
stead!) My tears on my cheeks have written, in characters of
red,
That which would both rejoice thee and fill thee with
pain and dread!
By Allah, 'twixt me and my heart, not a word of thee is said Nor
doth the thought of thy grace and thy glory pass through my
head,
But that mine eyes are wounded by dint of the tears I shed! Yea,
if to rest on another my glance be ever led,
May my lids be drawn in slumber by longing for the
dead!
Then Zoulmekan and Dendan wept sore and the whole army lamented
aloud; after which they all withdrew to their tents, and
Zoulmekan turned to Dendan and took counsel with him concerning
the conduct of the war.
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