Poem #58
English Translation
Persian
Our devotion's summit is the Friend's threshold divine
whatever falls upon our heads—all is her design.
سرِ ارادتِ ما و آستانِ حضرت دوست
که هر چه بر سرِ ما می‌رود ارادتِ اوست
I found no equal to the Friend
though I compared with care; mirrors of moon and sun against her radiant face so fair.
نظیرِ دوست ندیدم
اگر چه از مَه و مِهر نهادم آینه‌ها در مقابلِ رخِ دوست
What can the Breeze explain of my constricted heart's affairs?
Like folded petals in a bud, you're layered beyond compare.
صبا ز حالِ دلِ تنگِ ما چه شرح دهد؟
که چون شِکَنجِ ورق‌هایِ غنچه تو بر توست
Not I alone burn in this monastery's libertine flame
many heads lie broken in this workshop's stony game.
نه من سَبوکش این دیرِ رندسوزم و بس
بسا سَرا که در این کارخانه سنگ و سبوست
Did you comb your musk-scattering tress just now?
The wind's perfumed, the dust is amber-scented somehow.
مگر تو شانه زدی زلفِ عنبرافشان را؟
که بادْ غالیه‌سا گشت و خاکْ عنبربوست
Each rose leaf in the garden sacrificed before your face
each cypress by the stream ransomed for your stately grace.
نثارِ رویِ تو هر برگِ گل که در چمن است
فدای قَدِّ تو هر سروبُن که بر لبِ جوست
The speaking tongue laments in longing's description dire
what place for the tongue-cut pen of idle words' quagmire?
زبانِ ناطقه در وصفِ شوق نالان است
چه جای کِلکِ بریده‌زبانِ بیهُده‌گوست؟
Your face entered my heart
I'll find my heart's desire; good fortune follows good omens ever higher.
رخِ تو در دلم آمد مراد خواهم یافت
چرا که حالِ نکو در قَفایِ فالِ نکوست
Not just now burns Hafez's heart in passion's fire
branded from endless time, like wild tulips in desire.
نه این زمان دلِ حافظ در آتشِ هوس است
که داغدار ازل همچو لالهٔ خودروست
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 7/10. This poem contains beautiful imagery about the beloved's effect on the world. The verse about combing the tress making the wind perfumed and dust musk-scented is a lovely image. The reference to placing mirrors opposite the friend's face to find an equal is clever. The final verse about the heart being 'branded from eternity like a wild tulip' is a striking image of predestined love. The poem's celebration of the beloved's beauty and its effect on nature makes it accessible and appealing.
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