Poem #321
English Translation
Persian
Though I became old and weary-hearted, weak with years
each time I remember your face, youth reappears.
هر چند پیر و خسته‌دل و ناتوان شدم
هر گَه که یادِ رویِ تو کردم جوان شدم
I thank God—for all I sought from His gracious hand
to the summit of my aspiration I stand.
شکرِ خدا که هر چه طلب کردم از خدا
بر مُنتهایِ همتِ خود کامران شدم
O youthful rose! Rejoice in your fortune's bloom
for in your shade I became the nightingale of the world's garden room.
ای گُلبُن جوان! بَرِ دولت بخور که من
در سایهٔ تو بلبلِ باغِ جهان شدم
At first I knew nothing of my being's depth or height
but in the school of your sorrow, I learned all the mysteries' insight.
اول ز تحت و فوقِ وجودم خبر نبود
در مکتبِ غمِ تو، چُنین نکته‌دان شدم
My fate still directs me to the tavern door
though I've become this and that, so much more.
قسمت حوالتم به خرابات می‌کند
هر چند کاینچنین شدم و آنچنان شدم
That day the door of meaning opened wide in my heart
when I joined those dwelling at the Magian elder's sacred part.
آن روز بر دلم درِ معنی گشوده شد
کز ساکنانِ درگهِ پیرِ مغان شدم
On the eternal fortune's royal road, upon my throne of fate
with wine in hand I became what all my friends' hearts celebrate.
در شاه‌راهِ دولتِ سرمد به تختِ بخت
با جامِ مِی به کامِ دلِ دوستان شدم
Since the moment your eye's enchantment reached my soul
I've been safe from all the trials of the end of time's dark toll.
از آن زمان که فتنهٔ چشمت به من رسید
ایمن ز شرِّ فتنهٔ آخرزمان شدم
I'm not old from years and months; it's life's faithlessness I bear
when life passed me by, I aged from that despair.
من پیرِ سال و ماه نیَم، عمر بی‌وفاست
از من چو عمر می‌گذرد پیر از آن شدم
Last night Grace brought glad tidings: 'Return, Hafez, come back to Me'
'for I have pledged the pardon of your sins, eternally.'
دوشم نوید داد عنایت که حافظا بازآ
که من به عفوِ گناهت ضمان شدم
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem expresses transformation and hope. The verse about becoming 'young every time I remembered your face' even though 'old and tired-hearted' is a powerful statement. The observation that 'the door of meaning opened on my heart' when Hafez became 'from the residents of the threshold of the elder of the Magians' is a profound statement. The poem's combination of transformation and hope makes it very engaging.