The Kasîdah (couplets) of Hâjî Abdû Al-Yazdi

“Cease, man, to mourn, to weep, to wail;
Enjoy thy shining hour of sun;
We dance along Death's icy brink,
But is the dance less full of fun?”

Translation of an excerpt from The Kasîdah (couplets) of Hâjî Abdû Al-Yazdi by explorer and adventurer Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton

He spoke dozens of languages fluently and wrote scores of books. He was (possibly) the first Westerner to sneak into Mecca. The scar is from when he had a spear pass through his face during one of his many misunderstandings with native tribesmen. For more on Sir Richard, see here.