Ch 05 On Love And Youth Story 21

A virtuous and beauteous youth  
Was pledged to a chaste maiden.  
I read that in the great sea  
They fell into a vortex together.  
When a sailor came to take his hand,  
Lest he might die in that condition,  
He said in anguish from the waves:  
‘Leave me. Take the hand of my love.’  
Whilst saying this, he despaired of life.  
In his agony he was heard to exclaim:  
‘Learn not the tale of love from the wretch  
Who forgets his beloved in distress.’  
Thus the lives of the lovers terminated.  
Learn from what has occurred that thou mayest know  
Because Sa’di is of the ways and means of love affairs  
Well aware in the Arabian city of Baghdad.  
Tie thy heart to the heart-charmer thou possessest  
And shut thy eye to all the rest of the world.  
If Mejnun and Laila were to come to life again  
They might indite a tale of love on this occurrence.