N. PLISETSKY: "He is Happy..."

"He is Happy..."

(From Omar Khayyam)
He is happy who hadn’t worn bright silk and brocade,
Who the worldly fame’s book hadn’t written or read,
Who, like the bird Simurg, had renounced life, earthy,
But hadn’t turned self in owl, as old Khayyam had. 


Translated by Yevgeny Bonver, February, 2003