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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


BODY AND SOUL by AWHAD AD-DIN 'ALI IBN VAHID MUHAMMAD KHAVARANI

First Line: A PAINTER IN CHINA ONCE PAINTED A HALL
Last Line: BEWARE THAT THE COUNTERPART BLAZES WITH LIGHT!

A painter in China once painted a hall; --
Such a web never hung on an emperor's wall; --
One half from his brush with rich colors did run,
The other he touched with a beam of the sun;
So that all which delighted the eye in one side,
The same, point for point, in the other replied.

In thee, friend, that Tyrian chamber is found;
Thine the star-pointing roof, and the base on the ground:
Is one half depicted with colors less bright?
Beware that the counterpart blazes with light!



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