Shiraz! the proud! not yet her fame hath ceased,
Nurse of bright genius, Athens of the East!
Where, sage and poet, brilliant Sadi sprang,
And, crowned with Love's own garlands, Hafiz sang —
Hafiz, who shed Joy's spell on every theme,
And painted life one rapturous Summer dream.
With verdure still the poet's lawns are clad.
Still roses bend o'er crystal Roknabad;
And maidens, like young peris, fresh and gay,
Dance 'neath the shades of bowery Mossela;*
Now to crisp gold Morn turns the babbling waves
That murmur near the tuneful brothers' graves,
And yew-trees, softening, cast no shade of gloom,
Bending like calm bless'd watchers o'er each tomb.
The stream of Roknabad, and the " bowers of Mossela," so celebrated in tbe strains of Sadi and Hafiz, are still pointed out to the traveller; but masses of ruinous buildings in the vicinity have greatly impaired their ancient beauty.
"The tombs of Sadi and Hafiz are still to be seen (at Shiraz) close to the spot which gave them birth." — Frazer.