You can give any meaning to stones, Embed them in gold or silver, Build a canopy of rubies, emeralds, Diamonds and pearls,
Place them around incorruptible peacocks And create a befitting throne For a mighty Mogul emperor That even Tavernier would marvel,
But the restlessness of the nomadic spirit, The marauding plunders of a Turkmen Afshar, And the despoiling bravado of tribesmen In the treacherous sands of the Middle East,
Leave you in no doubt that A peacock might possess the skill To ingest poison and become Lustrously immortal like an angel,
But its symbolic power, Howsoever intricately represented, Will not stand the test of time, Or the perfidy of the human heart.
