Poem #307
English Translation
Persian
Each subtle point I uttered of that beauty's face,
All who heard replied: 'God bless the speaker's grace!'
هر نکته‌ای که گفتم در وصفِ آن شَمایل
هر کو شنید گفتا «لِلّهِ دَرُّ قائل»
Love and the libertine's way seemed easy at the start;
But earning these high virtues burned my very heart.
تحصیلِ عشق و رندی آسان نمود اول
آخر بسوخت جانم در کسبِ این فضایل
Hallaj upon the gallows sang this pleasant song:
'Ask not of Shafi'i riddles such as this belong.'
حَلّاج بر سرِ دار این نکته خوش سُراید
«از شافعی نپرسند امثالِ این مسائل»
I asked: 'When will you pardon my poor, feeble soul?'
It said: 'When soul no more divides us, makes us whole.'
گفتم که «کِی ببخشی بر جانِ ناتوانم؟»
گفت «آن زمان که نَبْوَد جان در میانه حائل»
I gave my heart to one with playful, coquettish art,
Whose pleasing ways and praiseworthy traits have captured every heart.
دل داده‌ام به یاری، شوخی، کَشی، نگاری
مَرضیّةُ السَجایا مَحمودَةُ الخَصائل
Secluded once, like your intoxicated eye I lay;
Now bent toward revelers, like your eyebrow's sway.
در عینِ گوشه‌گیری بودم چو چشمِ مستت
و اکنون شدم به مستان چون ابرویِ تو مایل
A hundred Noah's floods have flowed from weeping eyes,
Yet from my heart's inscription, your image never dies.
از آبِ دیده صد رَه طوفانِ نوح دیدم
وز لوحِ سینه نقشت هرگز نگشت زایل
O friend, let Hafez's hand ward off the envious eye;
O Lord, may I behold it on your neck hung high!
ای دوست دستِ حافظ تَعویذِ چشم زخم است
یا رب ببینم آن را در گردنت حَمایل
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 9/10. This is one of Hafez's most profound poems. The reference to Hallaj singing on the gallows that 'from Shafi'i they don't ask examples of these problems' adds historical and mystical depth. The verse about seeing 'the flood of Noah a hundred times from the water of the eye' while 'the design of yours never became removed from the tablet of the chest' is a powerful statement. The observation that Hafez was 'in seclusion like your intoxicated eye' and now became 'inclined to the intoxicated ones like your eyebrow' is a profound statement. The poem's combination of mysticism and emotional expression makes it extremely engaging.