Poem #205
English Translation
Persian
As long as the wine-house and wine have a name
my head shall be dust beneath the Magian elder's feet, the same.
تا ز میخانه و مِی نام و نشان خواهد بود
سرِ ما خاکِ رَهِ پیرِ مُغان خواهد بود
The Magian elder's ring has hung in my ear since eternity began
I am what I was, and what I shall remain, the same man.
حلقهٔ پیرِ مغان از ازلم در گوش است
بر همانیم که بودیم و همان خواهد بود
When passing by my tomb, hold high your aspiration there
for it shall be a shrine for all the world's libertines to share.
بر سرِ تربتِ ما چون گذری همّت خواه
که زیارتگَهِ رِندانِ جهان خواهد بود
Go, self-righteous ascetic
for from both your eyes and mine, the mystery of this veil is hidden and shall hidden remain for all time.
برو ای زاهدِ خودبین که ز چشمِ من و تو
رازِ این پرده نهان است و نهان خواهد بود
My lover-slaying Turk went out drunk today once more
whose blood shall next pour from their eyes, I wonder at the score?
تُرکِ عاشق‌کُشِ من مست برون رفت امروز
تا دگر خونِ که از دیده روان خواهد بود
When longing for you leads my eye to rest within the grave's cold bed
until the Resurrection's dawn it shall keep watch instead.
چشمم آن دَم که ز شوقِ تو نَهَد سر به لَحَد
تا دَمِ صبحِ قیامت نگران خواهد بود
If Hafez's fortune deals him aid in such a way
the beloved's tresses will be placed in others' hands one day.
بختِ حافظ گر از این گونه مدد خواهد کرد
زلفِ معشوقه به دستِ دگران خواهد بود
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 9/10. This is one of Hafez's most famous and profound poems. The verse about being 'on the same we are that we were and the same, will be' is a powerful statement about constancy. The observation that Hafez's tomb will be 'the pilgrimage-place of the libertines of the world' is a striking statement. The verse about the secret of the curtain being 'hidden is and hidden, will be' from the eyes of the ascetic is a profound statement. The poem's combination of fatalism, constancy, and mystical insight makes it extremely engaging.
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