48.
majnuun took a moment
to reflect on the young man’s words
he then smirked
“you know not the perils you ask for
‘tis better to retreat before it’s too late
misery may look sweet from afar
or when bore in moderation
but my cup boileth over immensely
only the most foolish of fools
would ask to sip of it
“besides
how can i take one under my wing
when i myself am penniless and naked
this wilderness of desert
is not filled with fruits and water
or soft places to offer sweet slumber at night
nor am i one for much conversation
solitude is my scepter and my crown
“my best advice is that you return home
receive this gem of wisdom
to protect you from needless suffering
a precious reward for your troubles
add not more to your toils
trust the value of my counsel
without having to experience the travails
which will prove its great worth”
salaam refused to be turned away so easily
“if nothing more
since i am a foreigner from a distant land
you must accept me as your guest for three days
without question”
there was a silence
salaam maintained a firm look
majnuun weighed whether to consent
to this custom regarding guests
it was, after all, a human custom of arabia
and he, as his company affirmed,
was now more of the wild than human
finally,
he waved his hand as if to indicate
the choice was salaam’s to make
a choice already made by something greater
that we frame in our concepts as destiny
salaam dismounted to celebrate
he pulled out an assortment of treats
and spread them out on a cloth
“come,
let us mark the occasion
with sweets to please the tongue”
“such delicacies do not appeal to me
who constantly abides in fasts”
“you are too hard on yourself
one with a genius like yours
should be well nourished
after all,
so many are fed by your words
why should you not be fed by the world”
unaware,
salaam’s words pricked a nerve in majnuun
who responded sharply
“do not confuse me with your opinion of me
i seek not fame or praise
or even my own desires
the hardships of these sands
have stripped away all my wants
i am not even “i” or “me” any more
i use such language only as convention
there is now only a soul broken
and made pure for love
purer than any conceptions can realize”
and then,
as if out of nowhere,
from the precipice,
spun forth a verse
“love is the water that turns this millstone
love is the wind that fondles this leaf in the air
love is the current that flows through this riverbed
all motion belongs to it
all being is only it
“as a body dead am i,
drowned within its movement
as a ghost departed am i
the lingering of my form dwindling away
mine existence is no more
naught of me remains
confuse not appearances with what is real
for even dead things can seem alive
in this world”
and then,
just like that,
in an unforeseen instant,
his person returned to the stern chastisement
“if you know so much
so as to make suggestions to me
stuff your own face with your own food
and shut up!
the fact that you seek to counsel me shows
you know nothing about me
for if you knew my life
you would know
it is better to keep quiet
if you wish to have any audience with me”
thus, was the introduction
for what proved to be a short sojourn
the streets of baghdaad were no preparation
for the brutality of the untamed desert
majnuun’s words proved true
there was no person of him to study or emulate
the verses came as they came
in complete, fleeting spontaneity
without any derived pattern or fixed sequence
nothing that could be followed to arrive
at the same outcome
so what was there to learn
from the non-person of majnuun
what of such fleeing spontaneity
could be studied
so after collecting a bunch of verses
many which would have disappeared
with their utterance
in the isolation of the desert
after such collection
the hard wilderness finally broke salaam’s mind
such that he doubted he could continue to survive
so he departed without even a goodbye
just mounted his camel and rode away
but he did not leave empty-handed
his log of these last verses of majnuun
became his gift
unbeknownest to all
the strands of majnuun’s earthly fate
were nearing their end
yet a morsel of his last days’ genius
found a home in the distant streets of baghdaad
salaam recited them throughout his hometown
to add to the widening collage of majnuun’s verses
dispersing throughout the universe
delectable sprinkles of love
❍ ● ❍