Poem #426
English Translation
Persian
I wrote a letter to the Friend with heart's blood for a pen
'Truly I saw a Doomsday rise from parting from you then.'
از خون دل نوشتم، نزدیک دوست نامه
«اِنّی رَأیتُ دَهراً، مِن هَجْرِکَ القیامه»
A hundred signs of absence within my eyes appear
'Are not these flooding tears of mine the proofs for us so clear?'
دارم من از فراقش، در دیده صد علامت
«لَیسَت دُموعُ عَینی، هٰذا لَنا العلامه؟»
However much I tested life, no profit did I get
'He who retries the tested one shall fall into regret.'
هر چند کآزمودم، از وی نبود سودم
«مَن جَرَّبَ المُجَرَّب، حَلَّت به الندامه»
I asked a doctor of the Friend, 'What cure is there for me?'
He said: 'In distance lies the pain, in nearness, safety.'
پرسیدم از طبیبی، احوال دوست گفتا
«فی بُعدها عذابٌ، فی قُربها السلامه»
I said: 'Reproach will come if I around the Friend should turn.'
'By God! We saw no love,' he said, 'where blame did not burn.'
گفتم «ملامت آید، گر گِرد دوست گردم»
«و اللهِ ما رَأینا، حُباً بِلا ملامه»
Since Hafez came a seeker now, give him a cup divine
'Until he tastes from Honor's hand, a draught of sacred wine.'
حافظ چو طالب آمد، جامی به جان شیرین
«حَتّیٰ یَذوقَ مِنهُ، کأساً مِن الکرامه»
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 9/10. This poem contains extensive Arabic phrases and expresses separation and longing. The Arabic phrases add significant cultural depth. The verse about writing 'a letter from the blood of the heart' saying 'indeed I saw a time, from your separation, the resurrection' is a powerful statement. The observation that the physician says 'in its distance, torment, in its nearness, safety' when asked about 'the state of the friend' is a profound statement. The poem's combination of Arabic phrases and emotional expression makes it very engaging.
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