quatrain 67

From Sunlight, three interpretations of Quatrain 67:

Sometimes I feel like a king,
sometimes I moan in my own prison.
Swaying between these states
I can't be proud of myself.
This "I" is a figment of my imagination.

trans Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi

I thought I had self-control,
so I regretted times I didn't.

With that considering over, the one thing I know
is I don't know who I am.

version by Coleman Barks

there was a time
when my thought
soared as a king
or a time when I mourned
like a prisoner
those days are gone
and I have promised
not to take myself
seriously again

trans Nader Khalili