Hafez

With wine beside a gently flowing brook -- this is best;
Withdrawn from sorrow in some quiet nook -- this is best;
Our life is like a flower's that blooms for ten short days,
Bright laughing lips, a friendly, fresh-faced look -- this is best.

"Borrowed Ware: Medieval Persian Epigrams"
Translated by Dick Davis
Persian calligraphy by Amir Hossein Tabnak
1997, Mage Publishers

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