Analysis of Life's Mighty Flood
Shams al-Din Hafiz 1315 (Shiraz) – 1390 (Shiraz)
WHAT is wrought in the forge of the living and life--
All things are nought! Ho! fill me the bowl,
For nought is the gear of the world and the strife!
One passion has quickened the heart and the soul,
The Beloved's presence alone they have sought--
Love at least exists; yet if Love were not,
Heart and soul would sink to the common lot--
All things are nought!
Like an empty cup is the fate of each,
That each must fill from Life's mighty flood;
Nought thy toil, though to Paradise gate thou reach,
If Another has filled up thy cup with blood;
Neither shade from the sweet-fruited trees could be bought
By thy praying-oh Cypress of Truth, dost not see
That Sidreh and Tuba were nought, and to thee
All then were nought!
The span of thy life is as five little days,
Brief hours and swift in this halting-place;
Rest softly, ah rest! while the Shadow delays,
For Time's self is nought and the dial's face.
On the lip of Oblivion we linger, and short
Is the way from the Lip to the Mouth where we pass
While the moment is thine, fill, oh Saki, the glass
Ere all is nought!
Consider the rose that breaks into flower,
Neither repines though she fade and die--
The powers of the world endure for an hour,
But nought shall remain of their majesty.
Be not too sure of your crown, you who thought
That virtue was easy and recompense yours;
From the monastery to the wine-tavern doors
The way is nought
What though I, too, have tasted the salt of my tears,
Though I, too, have burnt in the fires of grief,
Shall I cry aloud to unheeding ears?
Mourn and be silent! nought brings relief.
Thou, Hafiz, art praised for the songs thou hast wrought,
But bearing a stained or an honoured name,
The lovers of wine shall make light of thy fame--
All things are nought!
Scheme | ababcddC efefdggc hihixjjc kxkgcxxc xlxlcmmC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (23%) |
Metre | 111001101001 111111101 11101101001 11011001001 011001111 1110111101 1011110101 1111 1110110111 111111101 1111110111 10101111111 10110111111 111011011111 1101001011 1101 01111111101 1100101101 1101110101 1111100101 1011010011001 101101101111 101011111001 1111 01001110110 10111101 010101011110 1110111100 1111111111 1101100101 10100101101 0111 111111001111 11111001011 11101111 101101101 1111101111 110011111 01011111111 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,719 |
Words | 331 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 272 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 106 Views
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"Life's Mighty Flood" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/34672/life%27s-mighty-flood>.
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