Quatrains that Question: 20th-century Iranian poets: Mohammad Mehdi Fulâdvand, Abdulhosayn Nosrat, Mohammad-Taqi Bahar

It is better that the world be a mystery for us,

Better that a hundred voices be in the assembly of the wise.

If the veil drops from the face of the mysterious Belovéd,

What more need will there be for supplication, glorification, and pride?

*

The world is like a bubble.   What kind of bubble?

A bubble, not on water, but on the surface of a mirage.

A mirage which is seen in a dream.

A dream which is seen by someone who is dead-drunk.

*

Our freedom is the principle of our development,

Which is the purpose intended by God.

Live freely, but be careful not to allow

Your freedom to be the brigand* of others’ freedom.

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*brigand = bandit, plunderer, robber

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Translations from Persian (Farsi) into English:  © Reza Saberi