Once in Persia reigned a king, Who upon his signet ring Graved a maxim true and wise, Which, if held before his eyes, Gave him counsel at a glance Fit for every change and chance. Solemn words, and these are they; “Even this shall pass away.”
Trains of camels through the sand Brought him gems from Samarkand; Fleets of galleys through the seas Brought him pearls to rival these; But he counted little gain Treasures of the mine or main; “What is wealth?” the king would say; “Even this shall pass away.”
‘In the revels of his court, At the zenith of his sport, When the palms of all his guests Burned with clapping at his jests, He, amid his figs and wine, Cried, “O loving friends of mine; Pleasures comes, but not to stay; ‘Even this shall pass away.'”
Lady, fairest ever seen, Was the bride he crowned his queen. Pillowed on the marriage bed, Whispering into his soul, he said: “Though a bridegroom never pressed Dearer bossom to his breast, Mortal flesh must come to clay – Even this shall pass away.”
Fighting on a furious field, Once a javelin pierced his shield; Soldiers with a loud lament, Bore him bleeding to his tent. Groaning from his wounded side, “Pain is hard to bear,” he cried; “But with patience, day by day , Even this shall pass away.”
Towering in the public square, Twenty cubits in the air, Rose his statue, carved in stone. Then the king, disguised, unknown, Gazing at his sculptured name, Asked himself: “And what is fame? Fame is but a slow decay; Even this shall pass away.”
Struck with palsy, sere and old, Waiting at the Gates of Gold, Spake he with his dying breath, “Life is done, but what is Death? ” Then, in answer to the king, Fell a sunbeam on his ring, Showing by a heavenly ray, “Even this shall pass away.”Teksty umieszczone na naszej stronie są własnością wytwórni, wykonawców, osób mających do nich prawa.
