9. Kabul...a poem.

Kabul 

by Saib-e-Tabrizi 

Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains 

And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies 

Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes 

But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust 

My song exalts her dazzling tulips 

And at the beauty of her trees, I blush 

How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Bastaan! 

May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man! 

Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise 

For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven 

From the fort with sprawling wall, A Dragon of protection 

Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan 

Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye 

Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass 

One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs 

And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls 

Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers 

Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair 

Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs 

Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats 

And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara 

And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures

(Translated by Dr. Josephine Davis)