Poem #427
English Translation
Persian
Your face's lamp has made the candle like a moth to spin
You have no care for how I fare, or what state I am in.
چراغ روی تو را شمع گشت پروانه
مرا ز حال تو با حال خویش پروا، نه
Intellect, that once commanded Love's mad, chain-bound crew
Went mad itself for the hyacinth scent of your tress so true.
خِرد که قید مجانین عشق می‌فرمود
به بوی سنبل زلف تو گشت دیوانه
What if my soul goes to the wind for your tress's perfume?
A thousand souls are sacrificed to save the Friend from gloom.
به بوی زلف تو گر جان به باد رفت، چه شد؟
هزار جان گرامی فدای جانانه
I, wild with jealousy, last night fell down in weak despair
When I beheld my own Beloved in a stranger's care.
منِ رمیده ز غیرت ز پا فتادم دوش
نگار خویش چو دیدم به دست بیگانه
What stratagems we conjure up! Yet useless they prevail
Our magic spell upon Her heart is but an idle tale.
چه نقش‌ها که برانگیختیم و سود نداشت
فسون ما بر او گشته است افسانه
Upon the fire of Her fair face, who ever saw the sight
Of incense grain, save for Her mole, so black against the light?
بر آتش رخ زیبای او به جای سپند
به غیر خال سیاهش که دید به دانه؟
The candle gave its soul to the breeze for the joyful news it bore
When the moth arrived from the candle of your face, seeking more.
به مژده، جان به صبا داد شمع در نفسی
ز شمع روی تواش چون رسید پروانه
I have a promise with the ruby circle of Her lip
That I will speak of nothing else but the wine-cup I sip.
مرا به دور لب دوست هست پیمانی
که بر زبان نبرم جز حدیث پیمانه
Speak not of school or monastery, nor of their pious way
For Hafez's head is filled again with the tavern's air today.
حدیث مدرسه و خانقه مگوی که باز
فتاد در سر حافظ هوای میخانه
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem expresses devotion and transformation. The verse about 'the intellect that commanded the chain of the madmen of love' becoming 'mad to the fragrance of the hyacinth of your tress' is a powerful statement. The observation that Hafez says 'the air of the wine-house fell again in my head' when told not to say 'the tale of the school and the monastery' is a striking statement. The poem's combination of devotion and transformation makes it very engaging.
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