Poem #179
English Translation
Persian
Good news arrived: the days of grief will not remain
Just as that passed, this too shall pass and not remain.
رسید مژده که ایّامِ غم نخواهد ماند
چنان نماند چنین نیز هم نخواهد ماند
Though I became as dust before the Friend's disdain
The rival too, in honor, shall not long remain.
من ار چه در نظرِ یار خاک‌سار شدم
رقیب نیز چنین محترم نخواهد ماند
When the curtain-keeper strikes with sword and might and main
No resident within the sanctuary shall remain.
چو پرده‌دار به شمشیر می‌زند همه را
کسی مُقیمِ حریمِ حَرَم نخواهد ماند
Why thank or blame the patterns of joy or of pain
Upon existence's page, no mark shall remain.
چه جایِ شُکر و شکایت ز نقشِ نیک و بد است؟
چو بر صحیفهٔ هستی رقم نخواهد ماند
This was the song they sang in Jamshid's high domain
"Bring wine! For even Jamshid shall not here remain."
سرودِ مجلسِ جمشید گفته‌اند این بود
که «جامِ باده بیاور که جم نخواهد ماند»
O Candle, prize the Moth's embrace, do not refrain
For this brief union until dawn will not remain.
غنیمتی شِمُر ای شمع وصلِ پروانه
که این معامله تا صبح‌دم نخواهد ماند
O wealthy one, win the dervish's heart, not gain
For gold and silver treasuries will not remain.
توان‌گرا! دلِ درویشِ خود به دست آور
که مخزنِ زَر و گنجِ دِرَم نخواهد ماند
In gold upon this emerald arch, the words are plain
"Naught but the goodness of the generous shall remain."
بدین رَواقِ زَبَرجَد نوشته‌اند به زر
که «جز نکوییِ اهلِ کرم نخواهد ماند»
Hafez, despair not of the Friend's grace, nor complain
For tyranny's dark mark and cruel design shall not remain.
ز مهربانیِ جانان طمع مَبُر حافظ
که نقشِ جور و نشانِ ستم نخواهد ماند
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 9/10. This is one of Hafez's most famous and profound poems. The repeated structure of 'will not remain' creates a powerful sense of transience. The verse about the curtain-keeper striking everyone with a sword and no one remaining in the sanctuary is a profound statement about mortality. The reference to Jamshid and the song about bringing wine because 'Jam will not remain' adds cultural depth. The observation that only 'the goodness of the people of generosity' will remain is a profound statement. The poem's combination of carpe diem philosophy, mortality awareness, and structural repetition makes it extremely engaging.