Human beings are members of a whole...by Saadi

Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul.

If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.

If you have no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain.

~ Saadi
(A poem by the Persian poet Sa’adi (1210 – 1290)
gracing the entrance of the Hall of Nations of the
United Nations building in New York City)

Forty years of thy precious existence have expired by Sadi

Forty years 
of thy precious existence 
have expired; 

Yet thy life hath 
not passed beyond childhood.

Thou hast spent
all in lust and licence;

Not a moment hast thou acted
according to righteousness.

Rely not upon
unstable life;

Be not confident
that thou art safe

from the sport
of fortune.

~ Sadi's Scroll of Wisdom,
by Arthur N. Wollaston

A single drop of rain...by Sadi

A single drop of rain fell from a cloud in the sky
But was filled with shame when it saw the sea so wide.

'Next to the sea then, who am I?
If the sea exists, then how can I?'

While looking down on itself
With the eyes of contempt,
An oyster in its shell,
Took it in for nourishment.

And so it was, that its fate was sealed by this event,
And it became a famous pearl to adore a king's head.

Having descended to the depths,
It was now exalted to the heights.

On the portal of non existence it went knocking,
Until it finally was transformed into being.

~ Sadi

O nightingale.....by Sadi

O nightingale--
Learn love's way
from the moth.

That burnt one
passed away,
but didn't
utter a sound.

These pretenders
are deluded
in seeking him.

Those who came
to know the Friend
never sent back
any news.

~ Sa'di