HUMAYUN TO ZOBEIDA
(From the Urdu) You flaunt1 your beauty in the rose, your glory in the dawn, Your sweetness in the nightingale, your whiteness in the swan.
You haunt my waking like a dream, my slumber2 like a moon, Pervade3 me like a musky scent4, possess me like a tune5.
Yet, when I crave6 of you, my sweet, one tender moment's grace, You cry, "I SIT BEHIND THE VEIL, I CANNOT SHOW MY FACE."
Shall any foolish veil divide my longing7 from my bliss8? Shall any fragile curtain hide your beauty from my kiss?
What war is this of THEE and ME? Give o'er the wanton strife9, You are the heart within my heart, the life within my life.