I Asked...................! by Amir Khusrow Dehlawi

I asked, ‘What’s bright as the Moon?’
‘My beautiful face,’ was the answer.
I said, ‘What’s sweet as sugar?’
‘My speech,’ was the answer.

‘What is the way of Lovers?’ I asked
‘The way of loyalty,’ was the answer.
I said, ‘Don’t be so cruel to me.’
‘It’s my job to behave thus,’ was the answer.

‘What is death for Lovers?’
‘Separation from me,’ was the answer.
‘What is the cure for life’s ills?’
‘To gaze upon my face,’ was the answer.

‘What is spring, what autumn?’
‘Only my changing beauty,’ was the answer.
‘Who is the envy of the gazelle?’
‘My swift gait,’ was the answer.

‘Are you a fairy or a houri?’
‘I am the Lord of Beauty,’ was the answer.
‘Khusrow is helpless,’ I said.
‘He is my devotee,’ was the answer.

I said, ‘Don’t be so cruel to me.’
‘It’s my job to behave thus,’ was the answer.

Ah, the trials of lovers…

‘I am the Lord of Beauty,’ was the answer.

~ Amir Khusrow Dehlawi