And I watch all the while he can slumber and sleep.'
So the days and nights went by whilst Kanmakan lay tossing upon coals of fire，[73] till he reached the age of seventeen；and his beauty had waxt perfect and his wits were at their brightest.
One night，as he lay awake，he communed with himself and said，'Why should I keep silence till I waste away and see not my lover？Fault have I none save poverty；so，by Allah，I am resolved to remove me from this region and wander over the wild and the word；for my position in this city is a torture and I have no friend nor lover therein to comfort me；wherefore I am determined to distract myself by absence from my native land till I die and take my rest after this shame and tribulation.'And he began to improvise and recited these couplets，'Albeit my vitals quiver 'neath this ban；Before the foe myself I'll ne'er unman！
So pardon me，my vitals are a writ
Whose superion are my tears that ran：
Heigh ho！ my cousin seemeth Houri may
Come down to earth by reason of Rizwan：
'Scapes not the dreadful sword lunge of her look
Who dares the glancing of those eyne to scan：
O'er Allah's wide spread world I'll roam and roam，And from such exile win what bread I can Yes，o'er broad earth I'll roam and save my soul，All but her absence bear ing like a man With gladsome heart I'll haunt the field of fight，And meet the bravest Brave in battle van！'
So Kanmakan fared forth from the palace barefoot and he walked in a short sleeved gown，wearing on his head a skull cap of felt[74] seven years old and carrying a scone three days stale，and in the deep glooms of night betook himself to the portal of alArij of Baghdad.Here he waited for the gate being opened and when it was opened，he was the first to pass through it；and he went out at random and wandered about the wastes night and day.When the dark hours came，his mother sought him but found him not；whereupon the world waxt strait upon her for all that it was great and wide，and she took no delight in aught of weal it supplied.She looked for him a first day and a second day and a third day till ten days were past，but no news of him reached her.Then her breast became contracted and she shrieked and shrilled，saying，'O my son！ O my darling！ thou hast revived my regrets.Sufficed not what I endured，but thou must depart from my home？After thee I care not for food nor joy in sleep，and naught but tears and mourning are left me.O my son，from what land shall I call thee？And what town hath given thee refuge？'Then her sobs burst out，and she began repeating these couplets，'Well learnt we，since you left，our grief and sorrow to sustain，While bows of severance shot their shafts in many a railing rain：