Poem #375
English Translation
Persian
Come, Sufi, let us strip away the cloak of pious lies
and strike the line of cancelling through fraud and vain disguise.
صوفی بیا که خرقه سالوس برکشیم
وین نقش زرق را خط بطلان به سر کشیم
We'll pawn the monastery's vows to buy a cup of wine
and wash the hypocritic cloak in tavern juices fine.
نذر و فتوح صومعه در وجه می نهیم
دلق ریا به آب خرابات برکشیم
If tomorrow Paradise is barred to sinners such as we
we'll drag the houris and the youths out to our revelry.
فردا اگر نه روضه رضوان به ما دهند
غلمان ز روضه حور ز جنت به درکشیم
With joyful heads we'll leap outside the Sufi circle's gloom
and plunder wine and beauty's grace to fill our little room.
بیرون جهیم سرخوش و از بزم صوفیان
غارت کنیم باده و شاهد به بر کشیم
Let's feast and play, before the day regret shall strike us dead
when to another, unknown world our weary souls are led.
عشرت کنیم ور نه به حسرت کشندمان
روزی که رخت جان به جهانی دگر کشیم
The Secret of the Lord, concealed within the Unseen Sphere
we'll tear the veil from off its face, drunk without dread or fear.
سر خدا که در تتق غیب منزویست
مستانه‌اش نقاب ز رخسار برکشیم
Where is the beauty with the brow like new moon curving bright?
That we may hook the ball of fate with golden mallet's might.
کو جلوه‌ای ز ابروی او تا چو ماه نو
گوی سپهر در خم چوگان زر کشیم
O Hafez, silence such high boasts! It is not yours to say
why stretch your foot beyond the mat where you are meant to stay?
حافظ نه حد ماست چنین لاف‌ها زدن
پای از گلیم خویش چرا بیشتر کشیم
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem expresses rebellion and mysticism. The verse about pulling 'the veil intoxicated-like from the face' of 'the secret of God that is secluded in the casket of the unseen' is a powerful statement. The observation that Hafez and his companions will 'plunder wine and witness from the assembly of the Sufis' is a striking statement. The poem's combination of rebellion and mysticism makes it very engaging.