Poem #209
English Translation
Persian
To slay this weary soul with your sword was not decreed by fate
else from your ruthless heart there'd be no fault to state.
قتلِ این خسته به شمشیرِ تو تقدیر نبود
ور نه هیچ از دلِ بی‌رحمِ تو تقصیر نبود
When I the lunatic unbound your raven tress
no home was fit for me but iron chain's caress.
منِ دیوانه چو زلفِ تو رها می‌کردم
هیچ لایق‌ترم از حلقهٔ زنجیر نبود
O Lord, what secret holds this mirror of your grace
that all my ardent sighs found not the strength to trace?
یا رب این آینهٔ حُسن چه جوهر دارد؟
که در او آهِ مرا قُوَّتِ تأثیر نبود
From longing I raised my head toward tavern door and floor
for not a single cloistered sage could claim to know you more.
سر ز حسرت به درِ میکده‌ها بَرکردم
چون شناسایِ تو در صومعه یک پیر نبود
No figure fairer than your form in coquetry's garden grew
no image sweeter than your face in all the world we knew.
نازنین‌تر ز قَدَت در چمنِ ناز نَرُست
خوش‌تر از نقشِ تو در عالمِ تصویر نبود
Perhaps like dawn's soft breeze I'll reach your lane anew
yet last night nothing gained I save the nightwatch wail that blew.
تا مگر همچو صبا باز به کویِ تو رَسَم
حاصلم دوش به جز نالهٔ شبگیر نبود
I suffered, O fire of parting, what a candle knows
save for my own extinction, none of your designs arose.
آن کشیدم ز تو ای آتشِ هجران که چو شمع
جز فنای خودم از دستِ تو تدبیر نبود
Hafez without you was a verse of torment, stark and true
needing no commentary for any mortal who once knew.
آیتی بود عذابْ اَنْدُهِ حافظ بی تو
که بَرِ هیچ کَسَش حاجتِ تفسیر نبود
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem expresses longing and pain. The verse about Hafez's sigh not having 'the power of effect' in 'this mirror of beauty' is a striking statement. The observation that 'a knower of yours' was not 'in the monastery' is a poignant statement. The verse about Hafez being 'a verse' that was 'punishment-inducing' without the beloved is a profound statement. The poem's combination of emotional expression and imagery makes it very engaging.
Related Poems
"O Cupbearer, circulate the cup and pass it, for love seemed easy at first but difficulties arose."
"If that Turk of Shiraz takes my heart in hand, **** I will give Samarkand and Bukhara for his Hindu mole."
"To the courtiers of the sultan, who will deliver this prayer? **** That in gratitude for kingship, do not drive the begg..."
"O cupbearer, arise and pour the cup, **** put dust on the head of the grief of days"