“Happiness is—”
“Happiness is, I think, when you’re understood.”
From We’ll Live Till Monday, 1968.
تو در آینه نگه کن که چه دلبری ولیکن
تو که خویشتن ببینی نظرت به ما نباشد
- سعدی
“Look upon yourself in the mirror to see how beautiful you are
But I am afraid that once you see yourself, your eyes will never fall upon me”
- Saadi, 13th century Persian poet
Romanization:
To dar aayene negah kon ke che delbari valikan
To ke khishtan bebini nazarat be maa nabaashad
* delbar دلبر is a poetic word meaning beautiful. Literally it means ‘heart stealer’.
* Beauty and the Beast in Persian is called “Div o Delbar”دیو و دلبر.
گر زندگیم برگ گلی سرخی بود
آویزه ی گیسوی تو اش میکردم
If my life were a red rose petal
I would have pinned it to your hair
Qahar asi
شبان ہجراں دراز چوں زلف روز وصلت چو عمر کوتاہ
سکھی پیا کو جو میں نہ دیکھوں تو کیسے کاٹوں اندھیری رتیاں
The night of separation is long as your hairs, the day of union small as my age
Oh friend! how do i spend the dark night without looking at my beloved’s face.
-Amir Khusrau