Poem #70
English Translation
Persian
My eyes see none but you, no other face they view
my wandering heart remembers none—only you.
مردم دیدهٔ ما جز به رُخَت ناظر نیست
دل سرگشتهٔ ما غیرِ تو را ذاکر نیست
My tears bind the pilgrim's robe to circle your shrine
though never pure from heart-blood's stain, not one moment's mine.
اشکم احرامِ طوافِ حَرَمَت می‌بندد
گرچه از خونِ دلِ ریش دمی طاهر نیست
May it be trapped and caged like any wild bird caught
the Sidra bird, if not in quest of you, is naught.
بستهٔ دام و قفس باد چو مرغ وحشی
طایر سِدره اگر در طلبت طایر نیست
The pauper-lover scatters his heart's counterfeit coin
fault him not—true soul-cash he cannot purloin.
عاشقِ مفلس اگر قلبِ دلش کرد نثار
مَکُنَش عیب که بر نقدِ روان قادر نیست
At last, hands reach that tall cypress standing high
all whose aspiration seeking you does not run dry.
عاقبت دست بدان سروِ بلندش برسد
هر که را در طلبت همتِ او قاصر نیست
I'll never speak of Jesus' life-giving breath
in soul-increase, he lacks your lips' skill unto death.
از روان بخشی عیسی نزنم دَم هرگز
زان که در روح فَزایی چو لبت ماهر نیست
I who breathe no sigh in passion's searing flame
how can they say my branded heart lacks patience to its name?
من که در آتشِ سودای تو آهی نزنم
کِی توان گفت که برداغ، دلم صابر نیست
The first day I beheld your tress's tangled chain
I knew this wild distraction would forever reign.
روز اول که سرِ زلفِ تو دیدم گفتم
که پریشانیِ این سلسله را آخر نیست
Union with you fills not Hafez's heart alone
who lives whose memory does not long to make you their own?
سر پیوند تو تنها نه دلِ حافظ راست
کیست آن کِش سَرِ پیوند تو در خاطر نیست
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 7/10. This poem expresses intense devotion to the beloved. The verse about tears binding the 'ihram of the circumambulation' (pilgrimage ritual) adds Islamic context. The reference to the Sidra bird (a bird in paradise) adds spiritual dimension. The verse about the beloved's lip being more skilled than Jesus in 'soul-increasing' is a bold statement. The final verse's acknowledgment that many others also remember the beloved shows awareness of love's universality. The poem's combination of religious imagery and romantic devotion makes it engaging.
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