Poem #38
English Translation
Persian
Without your radiant face no light adorns my day
from life there lingers only darkest night and gray.
بی مِهرِ رُخَت روزِ مرا نور نماندست
وز عمر، مرا جز شبِ دیجور نماندست
At your farewell I wept so fierce, such endless cry
that far from you no spark of light remains within my eye.
هنگامِ وداعِ تو ز بس گریه که کردم
دور از رخِ تو، چشمِ مرا نور نماندست
Your phantom slipped my sight and whispered in lament
'Alas, this lonely corner holds no dwelling, no content.'
می‌رفت خیالِ تو ز چشمِ من و می‌گفت
هیهات از این گوشه که مَعْمور نماندست
Your union drove off death from hovering near my brow
yet fortune of your absence leaves no buffer now.
وصلِ تو اَجَل را ز سرم دور همی‌داشت
از دولتِ هجرِ تو کنون دور نماندست
That moment comes when rivals shout in open door
'Far from your face this worn and wounded soul's no more.'
نزدیک شد آن دم که رقیب تو بگوید
دور از رُخت این خستهٔ رنجور نماندست
Patience should heal this exile, yet how can it be drawn
when all capacity for patience now is gone?
صبر است مرا چارهٔ هِجرانِ تو لیکن
چون صبر توان کرد که مقدور نماندست؟
If in your loss my eyes run on like streams long drawn
then bid them bleed the liver—no excuse holds on.
در هِجرِ تو گر چشمِ مرا آبِ روان است
گو خونِ جگر ریز که معذور نماندست
Hafez from grief-filled weeping never reached a smile
for mourners have no call to feast or joyful style.
حافظ، ز غم از گریه نپرداخت به خنده
ماتم‌زده را داعیهٔ سور نماندست
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 7/10. This poem expresses intense grief at separation from the beloved. The repeated phrase 'has not remained' (namandast) creates a powerful sense of loss and emptiness. The theme of separation being worse than death is universal. The verse 'how can one be patient when the possible has not remained?' is a profound expression of despair. The poem's emotional intensity is clear, though the imagery is somewhat conventional (light/dark, weeping). The final verse's acknowledgment that grief prevents joy is relatable. The poem's focus on the pain of separation makes it emotionally resonant.