Poem #342
English Translation
Persian
The dust of my body veils the soul's bright face
oh, for the breath that tears this veil from its place!
حجابِ چهرهٔ جان می‌شود غبارِ تنم
خوشا دَمی که از آن چهره پرده برفکنم
This cage befits not a singer sweet as I
I am a bird of Eden, to that garden I fly.
چُنین قفس نه سزایِ چو من خوش‌اَلحانی‌ست
رَوَم به گلشنِ رضوان، که مرغِ آن چمنم
Why I came, where I go, remains unknown
alas, that I have heedless of my own self grown.
عیان نشد که چرا آمدم، کجا رفتم
دریغ و درد که غافل ز کارِ خویشتنم
How can I soar in the holy spirit's sphere
while bound by body's boards in this prison here?
چگونه طوف کنم در فضایِ عالمِ قدس؟
که در سراچهٔ ترکیب، تخته بندِ تنم
If my heart's blood breathes a scent of musk and pain
marvel not—I share the deer of Khotan's strain.
اگر ز خونِ دلم بویِ شوق می‌آید
عجب مدار که هم‌دردِ نافهٔ خُتنم
Look not at my gold-embroidered vest
see the candle's hidden fire within my breast.
طرازِ پیرهنِ زَرکشم مبین چون شمع
که سوزهاست نهانی درونِ پیرهنم
Come, lift Hafez's being from before your eyes
for with your presence, no 'I' can arise.
بیا و هستیِ حافظ ز پیشِ او بردار
که با وجودِ تو کس نشنود ز من که منم
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 9/10. This is one of Hafez's most profound poems about existence and transcendence. The verse about 'the veil of the face of the soul becoming the dust of the body' is a powerful statement. The observation that Hafez is 'board-bound of the body in the hall of composition' and asking how he can 'fly in the space of the world of holiness' is a profound statement. The poem's combination of mysticism and self-awareness makes it extremely engaging.