VII. Book of Timur - To Suleika

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Book of Timur: To Suleika

 

FITTING perfumes to prepare,

And to raise thy rapture high,
Must a thousand rosebuds fair

First in fiery torments die.

One small flask's contents to glean,

Whose sweet fragrance aye may live,
Slender as thy finger e'en,

Must a world its treasures give;

Yes, a world where life is moving,

Which, with impulse full and strong,
Could forbode the Bulbul's loving,

Sweet, and spirit-stirring song.

Since they thus have swell'd our joy,

Should such torments grieve us, then?
Doth not Timur's rule destroy

Myriad souls of living men?

1815.

Content of VII. Book of Timur: To Suleika [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem collection: West-Eastern Divan]

Read next: VIII. Book of Suleika#Suleika's Love

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