Poem #347
English Translation
Persian
O Idol, with this grief of love, what shall I do?
How long shall I lament the night for want of you?
صَنَما با غمِ عشقِ تو چه تدبیر کنم؟
تا به کِی در غمِ تو نالهٔ شبگیر کنم؟
My heart went mad when it heard wise advice
unless I chain it with your curls, it pays the price.
دل دیوانه از آن شد که نصیحت شِنَوَد
مگرش هم ز سرِ زلفِ تو زنجیر کنم
The pain I bore while we were far apart
can never be written, though it breaks my heart.
آن چه در مدتِ هِجرِ تو کشیدم هیهات
در یکی نامه محال است که تَحریر کنم
With your disheveled locks explaining my distress
what need for words to show this wilderness?
با سرِ زلفِ تو مجموعِ پریشانی خود
کو مجالی که سراسر همه تقریر کنم؟
When my soul longs to see you, bright and true
upon the air I paint the face of you.
آن زمان کآرزویِ دیدنِ جانم باشد
در نظر نقشِ رخِ خوبِ تو تصویر کنم
If I but knew that union could be bought
I'd give my heart and faith, and count them naught.
گر بدانم که وصالِ تو بدین دست دهد
دین و دل را همه دَربازم و توفیر کنم
Go, preacher, leave me! Speak no vain decree
I am not one to hear your hypocrisy.
دور شو از برم ای واعظ و بیهوده مگوی
من نه آنم که دگر گوش به تزویر کنم
No hope of virtue springs from Hafez’s pain
when Fate decrees it so, what plans remain?
نیست امّید صَلاحی ز فسادِ حافظ
چون که تقدیر چُنین است، چه تدبیر کنم؟
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem expresses helplessness and devotion. The verse about what Hafez bore 'in the duration of your separation' being 'impossible to write in one letter' is a powerful statement. The observation that 'when predestination is such, what management may I do' is a profound statement. The poem's combination of helplessness and devotion makes it very engaging.
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