THOUGH gifts like thine the fates gave not to me, One thing, O Hafiz, we both hold in fee -- Nay, it holds us; for when the June wind blows We both are slaves and lovers to the rose. In vain the pale Circassian lily shows Her face at her green lattice, and in vain The violet beckons, with unveiled face -- The bosom's white, the lip's light purple stain, These touch our liking, yet no passion stir. But when the rose comes, Hafiz -- in that place Where she stands smiling, we kneel down to her! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DEAR OLD DICK by EDGAR LEE MASTERS EPITAPHS OF THE WAR, 1914-18: THE BEGINNER by RUDYARD KIPLING ON THE LIFE OF MAN by WALTER RALEIGH SONNET: 20. A FAREWELL by PHILIP SIDNEY THE ARGONAUTS (ARGONATUICA): MEDEA BETRAYED by APOLLONIUS RHODIUS |