Antics of the Age

by Rahman Baba

English version by Jens Enevoldsen
Original Language Pashto

Contemplate the frantic
Efforts of the age
Countless are its antics
Boundless is its rage

Grieve in silence, brother!
Lest you keep your poise
Good men will be bothered
Evil men rejoice

Patience is a virtue
With the sweetest taste
When impatience hurts you,
Know, that haste is waste

Take on trust your fate if
You desire repose,
You would soon regret if
Something else you chose

Freedom cannot flourish
In your daily job
If a dream you nourish
Give your labour up

Falter shall the bustling
World, as I have said,
Should Rahman but trust in
What has got to fade?

-- from The Nightingale of Peshwar: Selections from Rahman Baba, Translated by Jens Enevoldsen

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Antics of the Age