When sixty-five years of life had weighed upon the weary brow, the burden of thought and sorrow grew ever heavier. The noble and wealthy of the realm stood distant, offering naught but empty praise and cold acclaim while keeping their coin-purses tightly sealed, leaving decades of monumental labor rewarded only by hollow bravos. Yet, amidst the cold silence of the world, noble souls stepped forth—Ali Deylami lent his steady support, and Huseyn Qatib, a patron of true generosity, ensured that food, raiment, and gold were never lacking, freeing the spirit from the anxieties of taxation and poverty.
Thus, as the seventy-first year arrived, the sublime power of verse placed the very heavens beneath its poetic couplets. The grand chronicle of the Iranian kings and the tragic end of Yazdegerd reached its ultimate conclusion on the day of Ard in the month of Esfandarmadh, four hundred years after the Hijra. Though earthly rulers proved tight-fisted and blind to its grandeur, the crown of language was raised beyond the stars. The eternal seed of words was sown across the soil of the world; and so long as wisdom, intellect, and faith endure in the hearts of humankind, the author of this mighty epic shall never die, living forever in the eternal praises of generations to come.
#1
چو بگذشت سال از برم شست و پنج
✦
فزون کردم اندیشه و درد و رنج
“When sixty and five years had passed over me, my anguish, grief, and meditation grew all the more.”
#2
به تاریخ شاهان نیاز آمدم
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به پیش اختر دیرساز آمدم
“I found myself in dire need of the history of kings, coming before a slow-moving, ill-fated star.”
#3
بزرگان و بادانش آزادگان
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نبشتند یکسر همه رایگان
“The nobles and wise free-born men all wrote down their deeds without offering me any reward.”
#4
نشسته نظاره من از دورشان
✦
تو گفتی بدم پیش مزدورشان
“I sat watching them from afar; you would have said I was but a hired laborer standing before them.”
#5
جز احسنت از ایشان نبُد بهره‌ام
✦
بِکَفت اندر احسنتشان زهره‌ام
“My only share from them was 'Bravo!'; at their empty 'Bravo!', my courage and spirit burst with frustration.”
#6
سر بدره‌های کهن بسته شد
✦
وزان بند روشن دلم خسته شد
“The mouths of the ancient coin-bags remained tightly tied, and my luminous heart grew weary of those sealed ties.”
#7
ازین نامور نامداران شهر
✦
علی دیلمی بود کو راست بهر
“Among the renowned notables of this city, it was Ali Deylami who truly bore a noble share of helpfulness,”
#8
که همواره کارش بخوبی روان
✦
به نزد بزرگان روشن‌روان
“Whose affairs ever move smoothly and with goodness in the presence of enlightened nobles.”
#9
حسین قتیب است از آزادگان
✦
که از من نخواهد سخن رایگان
“And Huseyn Qatib, a noble of free spirit, who never sought to take my poetry for free.”
#10
ازویم خور و پوشش و سیم و زر
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وزو یافتم جنبش و پای و پر
“From him I received food, clothing, silver, and gold; through him I gained movement, feet, and wings to soar.”
#11
نیَم آگه از اصل و فرع خراج
✦
همی‌غلتم اندر میان دواج
“I am unbothered by the heavy details of land taxes, rolling comfortably in my soft bedding.”
#12
جهاندار اگر نیستی تنگ‌دست
✦
مرا بر سر گاه بودی نشست
“If the ruler of the world were not so tight-fisted, my seat would have been upon the royal throne itself.”
#13
چو سال اندر آمد به هفتاد و یک
✦
همی زیر بیت اندر آرم فلک
“When my age entered into seventy-one, I brought the heavens beneath the feet of my verse.”
#14
همی گاه محمود آباد باد
✦
سرش سبز باد و دلش شاد باد
“May the court of Mahmud ever flourish; may his head remain green and his heart joyful!”
#15
چنانش ستایم که اندر جهان
✦
سخن باشد از آشکار و نهان
“I shall praise him in such wise that in the world, words shall echo of him both in secret and in public.”
#16
مرا از بزرگان ستایش بود
✦
ستایش ورا در فزایش بود
“My role toward rulers is to grant praise, and for him, praise brings an increase of glory.”
#17
که جاوید باد آن خردمند مرد
✦
همیشه به کام دلش کار کرد
“May that wise man live forever, and may his deeds ever align with his heart's desire!”
#18
همش رای و هم دانش و هم نسب
✦
چراغ عجم آفتاب عرب
“Endowed with wisdom, intellect, and noble lineage—the lamp of Persia and the sun of Arabia.”
#19
سرآمد کنون قصهٔ یزدگرد
✦
به ماه سفندارمذ، روزِ اَرد
“Now the story of Yazdegerd has reached its end, on the day of Ard in the month of Esfandarmadh,”
#20
ز هجرت شده پنج هشتاد بار
✦
به نام جهان‌داور کردگار
“When eighty times five years (400) had passed from the Hijra, in the name of the World-Judge, the Creator.”
#21
چو این ناموَر‌نامه آمد به بُن
✦
ز من روی کشور شود پُر سَخُن
“Now that this renowned book has reached its conclusion, the face of the entire realm shall be filled with my verse.”
#22
از آن پس نمیرم که من زنده‌ام
✦
که تخم سخن من پراکنده‌ام
“Henceforth I shall not die, for I am alive, having scattered the seed of words across the earth.”
#23
هر آنکس که دارد هُش و رای و دین
✦
پس از مرگ، بر من کند آفرین
“Whosoever possesses intellect, wisdom, and faith shall send blessings upon me after my death.”