Poem #310
English Translation
Persian
Welcome, bright bird, with blessed news you bring!
Tell me, what tidings? Where's the Friend? The path—which way to spring?
مرحبا طایرِ فَرُّخ پِیِ فرخنده پیام
خیرِ مقدم چه خبر؟ دوست کجا؟ راه کدام؟
O Lord, may eternal grace escort this caravan's way,
For by it the foe was trapped, and the Beloved won the day.
یا رب این قافله را لطفِ ازل بدرقه باد
که از او خصم به دام آمد و معشوقه به کام
The tale of me and my Beloved knows no final page;
What has no beginning, never ends through any age.
ماجرایِ من و معشوقِ مرا پایان نیست
هر چه آغاز ندارد نپذیرد انجام
The rose in bliss exceeds all bounds—show forth your face!
The cypress boasts, but graceless walks; for God's sake, bring grace!
گل ز حَد بُرد تَنَعُّم نفسی رخ بنما
سرو می‌نازد و خوش نیست خدا را بخرام
The Beloved's tress commands like sacred thread:
'Go, Sheikh! The cloak on us is now forbid.'
زلفِ دلدار چو زُنّار همی‌فرماید برو
ای شیخ که شد بر تنِ ما خرقه حرام
My soul-bird that sang high in heaven's lote tree nest,
Was snared at last by your mole's grain, and finds no rest.
مرغِ روحم که همی‌زد ز سرِ سِدره صَفیر
عاقبت دانهٔ خالِ تو فِکَندَش در دام
My ailing eyes, how can they sleep when wasting illness slays?
'How can one sleep whom chronic disease dismays?'
چشمِ بیمارِ مرا خواب نه در خور باشد
من لَهُ یَقتُلُ داءٌ دَنَفٌ کیفَ یَنام؟
You show no mercy to this faithful heart, I plead;
'That is my claim, and here you are—those days decreed.'
تو تَرَحُّم نکنی بر منِ مُخلص گفتم
ذاکَ دعوایَ و ها انتَ و تِلکَ الایّام
If Hafez loves your eyebrow's arc with such desire,
Perhaps the pious in the prayer-niche keep him, to aspire.
حافظ ار میل به ابرویِ تو دارد شاید
جای در گوشهٔ محراب کنند اهلِ کلام
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem contains Arabic phrases and profound statements. The verse about 'the tale of mine and the beloved of mine' having 'no end' because 'whatever has no beginning does not accept end' is a powerful statement. The Arabic phrase 'I, to whom a chronic disease kills, how may sleep?' adds cultural depth. The observation that Hafez may have 'desire to your eyebrow' and 'the people of word may make place in the corner of the prayer niche' is a striking statement. The poem's combination of Arabic phrases and emotional expression makes it very engaging.
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