Poem #401
English Translation
Persian
When I become the dust upon her path, she shakes her skirt of me;
And if I bid my heart to turn, she turns her face away from me.
چون شوم خاک رهش دامن بیفشاند ز من
ور بگویم دل بگردان رو بگرداند ز من
She shows her painted cheek to all, a rose in bloom for every eye,
But if I plead, "Veil now your grace," she veils herself away from me.
روی رنگین را به هر کس می‌نماید همچو گل
ور بگویم بازپوشان بازپوشاند ز من
I begged my eye: "One long, full look! Let me but drink her beauty in!"
"You wish," it said, "that streams of blood should flow in tears away from me?"
چشم خود را گفتم آخر یک نظر سیرش ببین
گفت می‌خواهی مگر تا جوی خون راند ز من؟
She thirsts to drink my very blood, while I thirst only for her lip;
Till when will this grim struggle last? Will she grant love, or take my life from me?
او به خونم تشنه و من بر لبش تا چون شود
کام بستانم از او یا داد بستاند ز من
If, like Farhad, I die in grief, no terror holds my soul in thrall,
For many a tale of sweet romance shall live and linger after me.
گر چو فرهادم به تلخی جان برآید باک نیست
بس حکایت‌های شیرین باز می‌ماند ز من
If, candle-like, I burn and die, she laughs to see my candle fade;
But if I murmur or complain, her tender heart takes flight from me.
گر چو شمعش پیش میرم بر غمم خندان شود
ور برنجم خاطر نازک برنجاند ز من
Friends, I have given up my soul for that small mouth, that mystery;
See now how for so slight a thing, nothing of self remains in me.
دوستان جان داده‌ام بهر دهانش بنگرید
کو به چیزی مختصر چون باز می‌ماند ز من
Hafez, be patient in your pain; if such the hand that deals the blow,
In every corner, men shall read the lesson of your love from me.
صبر کن حافظ که گر زین دست باشد درس غم
عشق در هر گوشه‌ای افسانه‌ای خواند ز من
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem expresses suffering and acceptance. The verse about the eye saying 'you want perhaps until the stream of blood may run from me' when Hafez asks to 'see one glance full' is a powerful statement. The reference to Farhad adds cultural depth. The observation that 'if from this hand may be, the lesson of the grief of love in every corner may read a tale from me' is a profound statement. The poem's combination of suffering and acceptance makes it very engaging.