184
THE QUATRAINS OF
273.
My queen (long may she live to vex her slave!)
To-day a token of affection gave,
Darting a kind glance from her eyes, she passed,
And said, "Do good and cast it on the wave!"
274.
I put my lips to the cup, for I did yearn
The hidden cause of length of days to learn;
He leaned his lip to mine, and whispered low,
"Drink! for, once gone, you never will return."
275.
We lay in the cloak of Naught, asleep and still.
Thou said'st, "Awake! taste the world's good and ill;"
Here we are puzzled by Thy strange command,
From slanted jars no single drop to spill.
273. L. N. Meaning, hope not for a return to your love. Nĕkúyey, "a good act," ya conjunctive and yá i tankír. Vullers, p. 250.
