Poem #55
English Translation
Persian
Your tress's curve ensnares both faith and unbelief
from its dark workshop, here's one sample of its thief.
خَمِ زلفِ تو دامِ کفر و دین است
ز کارستانِ او یک شمه این است
Your beauty is Beauty's miracle, it's true
but your coquettish glances cast pure sorcery through.
جمالت مُعجِزِ حُسن است لیکن
حدیثِ غمزه‌ات سحرِ مبین است
How can one escape your playful eyes alive
they lie in constant ambush, bow and arrow primed to thrive.
ز چشمِ شوخِ تو جان کی توان برد؟
که دایم با کمان اندر کمین است
A hundred blessings on those dark eyes so bright
in killing lovers, they create pure magic's might.
بر آن چشمِ سیه صد آفرین باد
که در عاشق کُشی سِحرآفرین است
How strange Love's science and its cosmic design
its eighth celestial sphere is Earth's seventh clime!
عجب عِلمیست عِلم هیئت عشق
که چرخِ هشتمش، هفتم زمین است
Think you the slanderer took my soul and fled
his reckoning's with the Noble Scribes instead.
تو پنداری که بدگو رفت و جان برد؟
حسابش با کرام الکاتبین است
Hafez! Be not secure from her tress's cunning snare
it stole your heart and now binds you in religion's care.
مشو حافظ ز کیدِ زلفش ایمن
که دل برد و کنون در بندِ دین است
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 7/10. This poem contains striking imagery about the beloved's power. The verse about the 'eighth sphere' being the 'seventh earth' in love's science is a clever astronomical metaphor. The reference to 'keram al-katibin' (noble scribes, angels who record deeds) adds Islamic context. The poem's theme of the beloved's tress being a snare for both unbelief and religion is thought-provoking. The final warning not to be secure from the beloved's trickery is a playful acknowledgment of love's power. The poem's mix of imagery and philosophy makes it engaging.
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