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Poverty is more pleasant than majesty;
depravity, more pleasant than piety.
Majesty, has its headaches, and when
last I looked, beggary was more pleasant.
Since kings let no one approach them,
being indigent among the poor is more pleasant.
When pride gets into someone's head,
being pals with a dog from the streets
is more pleasant.
When the heart breaks with melancholy
over some beauty, that breaking is more pleasant
than any salve. Public love play with idols
is more pleasant than all this devout hypocrisy.
Once won, there's no pleasure in love.
Separation, for those who play this game,
is more pleasant.
Put your base love out of your mind,
Khusrau. Love for the sacred secret
is more pleasant.
From: In The Bazaar of Love ; The selected poetry of Amir Khusrau Translated by Paul Losensky and Sunil Sharma
Labels: Khusrau