First with a thousand kindness He cherished me,
Then chastened with a thousand kinds of agony.
He moved my counter as He willed in His love’s play,
And, when I lost myself in Him, flung me away.

Awwal be-hezâr lotf be-nvâkht marâ,
Akhar be-hezâr qûsseh bo-ghdâkht marâ.
Chon mohreh-é mehr-é khish mi-bâkht marâ,
Chon man hameh ô shodam, bi-yandâkht marâ.

Vocabulary

Awwal = first
hezâr = thousand
lotf = kindness, favour
be-navâkht = cherished
marâ = me
Akhar = then, later
qûsseh = grief, sorrow
bo-ghdâkht = smelt, chastened
Chon = like
mohreh = bead
mehr = love, affection
mi-bâkht = comes from the verb Bâzidan means to play with
man = I
ô = he
bi-yandâkht marâ = flung me away

by Eliza Tashibi