Friend among friends in love and amity,
Foe among foes.

AMIR.




VIII.


I shall not try to flee the sword of Death,
Nor fearing it a watchful vigil keep,
It will be nothing but a sigh, a breath,
A turning on the other side to sleep.

Through all the close entanglements of earth
My spirit shaking off its bonds shall fare
And pass, and rise in new unfettered birth,
Escaping from this labyrinth of care.

Within the mortal caravan-serai
No rest and no abiding place I know,
I linger here for but a fleeting day,
And at the morrow's summoning I go.

What are these bonds that try to shackle me?
Through all their intricate chains my way I find,
I travel like a wandering melody
That floats untamed, untaken, on the wind.