As soon as
it was day, she rose and taking a purse of dinars, said to me,
"Come, show me her tomb, that I may visit it and grave some
verses thereon and build a dome over it and commend her to the
mercy of God and bestow these dinars in alms for her soul." "I
hear and obey," replied I and went on before her, whilst she
followed me, giving alms by the way and saying to all to whom she
gave, "This is an alms for the soul of Azizeh, who kept her
counsel, till she drank the cup of death, and discovered not the
secret of her passion." And she stinted not thus to give alms and
say, "For Azizeh's soul," till the purse was empty and we came to
the burial-place. When she saw the tomb, she wept and threw
herself upon it; then pulling out a graver of steel and a light
mallet, she graved the following verses, in fine characters, upon
the stone at the head of the tomb:
I passed by a ruined tomb, in the midst of a garden-way, Upon
whose letterless stone seven blood-red anemones lay.
"Who sleeps in this unmarked grave?" I said; and the earth, "Bend
low; For a lover lies here and waits for the Resurrection
Day."
"God help thee, O victim of love," I cried, "and bring thee to
dwell In the highest of all the heavens of Paradise, I pray!
How wretched are lovers all, even in the sepulchre, When their
very graves are covered with ruin and decay!
Lo, if I might, I would plant thee a garden round about And with
my streaming tears the thirst of its flowers allay!"
Then she returned to the garden, weeping, and I with her, and she
said to me, "By Allah, thou shalt never leave me!" "I hear and
obey," answered I.
Pages:
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326