زنجير عشق

عشق او باز اندر آوردم به بند

کوشش بسيار نامد سودمند

توسنی کردم ندانستم همی

کز کشيدن سختتر گردد کمند

عشق دريايی کرانه ناپديد

کی توان کردن شنا ای مستمند

عاشقی خواهی که تا پايان بری

پس ببايد ساخت با هر ناپسند

زشت بايد ديد و انگاريد خوب

زهر بايد خورد و پنداريد قند

Love’s chain

by Rabeha Balkhi

I am caught in Love's web so deceitful
None of my endeavors turn fruitful.
I knew not when I rode the high-blooded stead
The harder I pulled its reins the less it would heed.
Love is an ocean with such a vast space
No wise man can swim it in any place.
A true lover should be faithful till the end
And face life's reprobated trend.
When you see things hideous, fancy them neat,
Eat poison, but taste sugar sweet.

Rabeha Balkhi was possibly the first poetess in the History of Persian Poetry. The exact dates of her birth and death are unknown, but it is reported that she was a native of Balkh in Khorasan (now in Afghanistan).