Poem #221
English Translation
Persian
When I reach to touch her tresses, she turns coquettish and away
or when I seek peace, she greets me with reproach's sharp display.
چو دست بر سرِ زلفش زنم به تاب رَوَد
ور آشتی طلبم با سرِ عِتاب رَوَد
Like the new moon blocking helpless watchers' eager sight
she hides behind her eyebrow's arc and veils herself from light.
چو ماهِ نو رَهِ بیچارگانِ نَظّاره زَنَد
به گوشهٔ ابرو و در نقاب رود
Wine's night ruins me with wakefulness and keeps me from my rest
if I complain by day, she goes to sleep, ignoring my protest.
شبِ شراب خرابم کُنَد به بیداری
وگر به روز شکایت کنم به خواب رود
Love's path is fraught with tumult and with trials manifold, O heart
those who rush headlong down this road will stumble and fall hard.
طریقِ عشق پرآشوب و فتنه است ای دل
بیفتد آن که در این راه با شتاب رود
Don't trade the beggary at your beloved's door for sovereignty's throne
who'd leave this doorway's shade to face the blazing sun alone?
گدایی درِ جانان به سلطنت مفروش
کسی ز سایهٔ این در به آفتاب رود؟
When the blackness of dark hair's inscription has been scrolled
the whiteness won't diminish though a hundred choices fold.
سوادِ نامهٔ مویِ سیاه چون طی شد
بَیاض کم نَشَوَد گر صد انتخاب رود
When pride's wind fills the bubble's head with vanity and air
its crown dissolves back into wine—such hats don't linger there.
حباب را چو فِتَد بادِ نخوت اندر سر
کلاه داریَش اندر سرِ شراب رود
You are the veil upon the path yourself, Hafez—arise
blessed is he who walks this road with no veils to disguise.
حجابِ راه تویی حافظ از میان برخیز
خوشا کسی که در این راه بی‌حجاب رود
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem contains profound statements about love and the path. The verse about not selling 'beggary at the door of the beloved' to 'sovereignty' is a powerful statement. The observation that 'who from the shadow of this door, to the sun, goes?' is a striking question. The verse about Hafez being 'the veil of the path' and saying 'pleasant, that one who in this path, without veil, goes' is a profound statement. The poem's combination of mystical insight and advice makes it very engaging.
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