‘no One While He Lives Is Happy' Poem by Sadiqullah Khan
‘no One While He Lives Is Happy'
Croesus of Lydia, laden with fetters,
Now a vast pile had been raised
By the orders of Cyrus.
Croesus was placed upon it, along with,
Twice seven of the sons of Lydians.
Croesus was a holy man,
Cyrus wished if any of the heavenly powers
Appear to save him.
Croesus remembers the divine words
Of Solon the Athenian, which had come,
From his lips, ‘No one while he lives is happy'.
Breaking his deep silence, he uttered
The name of Solon thrice. Cyrus caught the sounds.
Bade the interpreters to inquire,
‘Whom Croesus called upon? '
Who was forced to say something.
‘One I would give much to see converse
With a monarch.'
Cyrus, bethinking himself,
That he too was a man, and that it was a fellow man,
And one who had been blessed by fortune once,
Out of fear of retribution, bade them quench
The blazing fire, as quickly as they could,
And bring Croesus and the other Lydians down.
The efforts made to quench the fire were in vain,
With tears Croesus besought the gods,
Suddenly dark clouds gathered,
And storms burst over their heads,
With rain of such violence that the flames were speedily
Extinguished.
Cyrus convinced by this, that Croesus was a good man,
And a favorite of heaven, seated him next to himself.
-Adapted from Herodotus (484 - 425 BC) , Histories, Book I.
Sadiqullah Khan
Islamabad
July 9,2014.
Tomb of Cyrus the Great (559 - 530 BC) at Pasargadae, Iran. @ DestinationIran
'Passer-by, I am Cyrus, who gave the Persians an empire, and was King of Asia. Grudge me not therefore this monument.' Anyway, a few gold items were stolen from the mausoleum and the palaces were plundered.
During the Islamic conquest of Iran, the Arab armies came upon the tomb and planned to destroy it, considering it to be in violation of the tenets of Islam. The caretakers of the grave managed to convince the Arab command that the tomb was not built to honor Cyrus but instead housed the mother of King Solomon, thus sparing it from destruction. As a result, the inscription in the tomb was replaced by a verse of the Qur'an, and the tomb became known as the 'tomb of the mother of Solomon'. It is still widely known by that name today.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/4/2024 6:31:26 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Very interesting write. Enjoyed the read and am grateful for your added informative poet's notes.