al-Shanfarā الشنفرى
6th century · Arabia · The third and fourth verses of a poem spoken on turning his back on his own tribe. It is handed down as al-Shanfarā's, though some scholars think a later hand composed it.
On this earth there is a refuge from harm for the noble, and a place apart for one who fears hatred. By your life, the earth is not too narrow for a man who travels by night, in hope or in fear, if he keeps his wits.
وفي الأرض منأى للكريم عن الأذى
وفيها لمن خاف القلى متعزل
لعمرك ما بالأرض ضيق على امرىء
سرى راغبا أو راهبا وهو يعقلLāmiyyat al-ʿArab (The L-poem of the Arabs)
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Bābā Ṭāhir باباطاهر
11th century · Hamadan, Persia · A qalandar is a wandering dervish who owns nothing. Given in his regional dialect.
I am the vagabond they call a qalandar: no house, no home, no anchorage have I. When day comes I wander round the world; when night comes I lay my head on a brick.
مو آن رندم که نامم بیقلندر
نه خان دیرم نه مان دیرم نه لنگر
چو روج آیو بگردم گرد گیتی
چو شو آیو به خشتی وانهم سرDo-baytī (a song of two couplets)
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