122
out, running, to the shore of the sea, where he fixed his eyes on the place of the ship that had carried her off, whilst sighs burst from his breast and he recited the following verses:
Peace be upon thee! Nought to me can compensate for thee: I’m in two cases, near in thought, yet distant verily.
I long for thee each time and tide, even as a man athirst Longs for the distant watering-place, that still from him doth flee.
With thee my hearing and my sight, my heart and spirit are: Thy memory than honey’s self is sweeter far to me.
O my despair, whenas your train departed and your ship Fared from the vision of mine eyes with thee across the sea.
And he wept and wailed and bemoaned himself, crying out and saying, ‘O Meryem! O Meryem! Was it but in sleep I saw thee or in the illusions of dreams?’ And by reason of that which waxed on him of regrets, he recited these verses:
Shall mine eyes ever look on thee, after this parting’s pain, And shall I ever hear thy call by house and camp again?
And shall the house our presence cheered once more unite us two? Shall it my heart’s desire and thine be given us to attain?
Take my bones with thee by the way and where thou lightest down, Bury them near thee, so they may with thee for aye remain.
Had I a pair of hearts, with one I’d make a shift to live And leave the other to consume for love of thee in vain;
And if, ‘What wouldst thou have of God?’ ’twere asked of me, I’d say, ‘Th’ Almighty’s favours first, then hers, my prayer to seek were fain.’
As he was in this case, weeping and crying out, ‘O Meryem!’ an old man landed from a vessel and coming up to him, saw him weeping and heard him recite these verses:
O Meryem of loveliness,[1] return to me again; My eyeballs are as clouds that pour with never-ceasing rain.
Do thou but ask, concerning me, of those at me that rail; They’ll tell thee that my lids lie drowned within their fountains twain.
- ↑ Meryem el Husn. This would appear to have been the girl’s full name, though elsewhere in the story she is called “Meryem” only.
