Poem #380
English Translation
Persian
A thousand times I've said it, and again I say it true
I tread this path of love helpless, not of my own will, I do.
بارها گفته‌ام و بار دگر می‌گویم
که من دلشده این ره نه به خود می‌پویم
Behind the mirror they have placed this parrot soul of mine
I only speak the words taught by the Master of Design.
در پس آینه طوطی صفتم داشته‌اند
آن چه استاد ازل گفت بگو می‌گویم
Whether I be a prickly thorn or rose of gardens fair
I grow but as the Gardener's hand has set and kept me there.
من اگر خارم و گر گل چمن آرایی هست
که از آن دست که او می‌کشدم می‌رویم
Friends, blame me not for being lost, bewildered and apart
I bear a jewel, and I seek a critic of the heart.
دوستان عیب من بی‌دل حیران مکنید
گوهری دارم و صاحب نظری می‌جویم
Though wine upon a patch-work cloak is counted as a stain
I count it not, for it washes out the hypocrite's dark grain.
گرچه با دلق ملمع می گلگون عیب است
مکنم عیب کز او رنگ ریا می‌شویم
The lover's laugh, the lover's tear, spring from a mystic deep
at night I sing my joy aloud, at dawn I wake to weep.
خنده و گریه عشاق ز جایی دگر است
می‌سرایم به شب و وقت سحر می‌مویم
My Hafez said: 'Smell not the dust that lies at the tavern door!'
I answered: 'Blame me not, for there I scent the musk of yore.'
حافظم گفت که خاک در میخانه مبوی
گو مکن عیب که من مشک ختن می‌بویم
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem expresses self-awareness and acceptance. The verse about being 'heart-lost' and not following 'this path to myself' is a powerful statement. The observation that Hafez 'smells the musk of Khotan' even when told 'don't smell the earth of the door of the wine-house' is a striking statement. The poem's combination of self-awareness and acceptance makes it very engaging.