Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 1.djvu/149

131 away and remained so long insensible, that the slaves thought he would not survive his son. So they wrapped the dead youth in his clothes and carried him up and laid him on the ground, covering him with a shroud of silk. Then they addressed themselves to transport all that was in the place to the ship, and presently the old man revived and coming up after them, saw his son laid out, whereupon he fell on the ground and strewed dust on his head and buffeted his face and tore his beard; and his weeping redoubled, as he hung over his dead son, till he swooned away again. After awhile the slaves came back, with a silken carpet, and laying the old man thereon, sat down at his head. All this time I was in the tree above them, watching them; and indeed my heart became hoary before my head, for all the grief and affliction I had undergone. The old man ceased not from his swoon till nigh upon sundown, when he came to himself and looking upon his dead son, recalled what had happened and how what he had feared had come to pass: and he buffeted his face and head and recited the following verses:

My heart is cleft in twain for severance of loves; The burning tears pour down in torrents from my eye. My every wish with him I loved is fled away: What can I do or say? what help, what hope have I? Would I had never looked upon his lovely face! Alas, the ways on me are straitened far and nigh! What charm can bring me peace, what drink forgetfulness, Whilst in my heart the fire of love burns fierce and high? Would that my feet had trod with him the road of death! Then should I not, as now, in lonely sorrow sigh. O God, that art my hope, have pity upon me! Unite us twain, I crave, in Paradise for aye! How blessed were we once, whilst one house held us both And twinned in pure content our happy lives passed by! Till fortune aimed at us the shafts of severance And parted us; for who her arrows can defy?