Poem #44
English Translation
Persian
Now on the Rose's palm, the cup of pure wine stands
the Nightingale describes it with a hundred thousand hands.
کُنون که بر کفِ گُل، جامِ بادهٔ صاف است
به صد هزار زبان، بلبلش در اوصاف است
Ask for the poets' book and take the desert's way
who cares for schools and learned commentary's sway!
بخواه دَفْتَرِ اَشعار و راهِ صَحرا گیر
چه وَقْتِ مدرسه و بَحْثِ کَشْفِ کَشّاف است؟
The school's jurist, drunk yesterday, decreed with mirth
wine's forbidden, yes! But better than endowment's worth.
فقیهِ مدرسه، دی، مَسْت بود و فَتوی داد
که مِی، حَرام ولی بِهْ ز مالِ اوقاف است
You have no say in bitter wine or pure; drink sweet
for all the Cupbearer pours is grace's essence, complete.
به دُرد و صاف، تو را حُکْم نیست خوش دَرکَش
که هرچه ساقیِ ما کَرْد عِیْنِ اَلطاف است
Cut from the crowd! Like the Phoenix, measure what you do
the corner-dwellers' fame spans from qaf to qaf askew.
بِبُر ز خَلق و چو عَنقا، قیاسِ کار بگیر
که صیتِ گوشه‌نشینان، زِ قاف تا قاف است
The pretenders' talk and colleagues' empty dream
like gold-embroiderer and mat-weaver, a timeworn theme.
حَدیثِ مُدّعیان و خیالِ همکاران
همان حکایتِ زَردوز و بوریاباف است
Be silent, Hafez! Guard these points like purest gold
the city's money-changer knows true value from the bold.
خموش «حافظ» و این نکته‌هایِ چونِ زَرِ سُرخ نگاه دار
که قَلّابِ شهر، صَرّاف است
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 7/10. This poem contains a humorous verse about a drunk jurist giving a fatwa that wine is 'forbidden but better than endowment property'—a witty critique of religious hypocrisy that may amuse Western readers. The advice to abandon school for the desert and poetry is a clear carpe diem message. The reference to the phoenix (Anqa) adds mythical resonance. The final verse's advice to keep valuable insights because the city's money-changer can assess them is clever. The poem's mix of humor, critique, and wisdom makes it engaging.
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