Poem #409
English Translation
Persian
The dust upon your path is worth the musk of China's store;
The sun that nurtures shadows loves your cap's embroidered shore.
ای خونبهای نافه چین خاک راه تو
خورشید سایه‌پرور طرف کلاه تو
The narcissus is bold and vain, and walks with wanton pride;
O let me die for your black eye, where modesty and grace abide!
نرگس کرشمه می‌برد از حد برون خرام
ای من فدای شیوه چشم سیاه تو
Drink up my blood! For no such king, with beauty so divine,
Could ever bear to write my name as sinner in the line.
خونم بخور که هیچ ملک با چنان جمال
از دل نیایدش که نویسد گناه تو
You are the cause of rest and sleep for all the world's repose;
And so my heart and eyes became a haven where you chose.
آرام و خواب خلق جهان را سبب تویی
زان شد کنار دیده و دل تکیه‌گاه تو
Each night I bargain with the stars, and count them one by one,
In longing for your moon-bright face, my glory and my sun.
با هر ستاره‌ای سر و کار است هر شبم
از حسرت فروغ رخ همچو ماه تو
Friends and companions all have gone, and scattered far and wide;
We and your threshold still remain, where fortune and we abide.
یاران همنشین همه از هم جدا شدند
ماییم و آستانه دولت پناه تو
Hafez, despair not of His Grace! For in the end, you'll see,
The smoke of your deep sigh shall burn the barn of misery.
حافظ طمع مبر ز عنایت که عاقبت
آتش زند به خرمن غم دود آه تو
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem expresses devotion and sacrifice. The verse about asking the beloved to 'drink my blood' because 'no kingdom with such beauty' can 'write your sin from the heart' is a powerful statement. The observation that 'rest and sleep of the people of the world' is caused by the beloved and 'the side of the eye and heart became the resting-place' is a profound statement. The poem's combination of devotion and sacrifice makes it very engaging.
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