Poem #71
English Translation
Persian
The outward ascetic knows not our inner state
whatever he says of us, we do not hesitate.
زاهدِ ظاهرپرست از حالِ ما آگاه نیست
در حقِ ما هر چه گوید جایِ هیچ اکراه نیست
On the Path, whatever meets the seeker is his grace
on the straight road, O heart, none lose their place.
در طریقت هر چه پیشِ سالک آید خیرِ اوست
در صراطِ مستقیم ای دل کسی گمراه نیست
Till we see what game unfolds, we'll move our pawn
on libertines' chessboard, the king has no throne.
تا چه بازی رخ نماید بیدَقی خواهیم راند
عرصهٔ شطرنجِ رندان را مجالِ شاه نیست
What is this high ceiling, simple yet with patterns bright?
No sage in all the world can solve this riddle's flight.
چیست این سقفِ بلندِ سادهٔ بسیارنقش؟
زین معما هیچ دانا در جهان آگاه نیست
O Lord! What self-sufficiency, what powerful decree is this?
So many hidden wounds, yet no room for sighs to flee.
این چه استغناست یا رب وین چه قادر حکمت است؟
کاین همه زخمِ نهان هست و مجالِ آه نیست
Our court's master seems not to count the cost
within his royal seal, 'for God's sake' is lost.
صاحبِ دیوانِ ما گویی نمی‌داند حساب
کاندر این طُغرا نشانِ حِسبَةً لِلّه نیست
Whoever wishes, come, and speak whatever's on your tongue
no pride, no chamberlain guards this sacred threshold's rung.
هر که خواهد گو بیا و هر چه خواهد گو بگو
کِبر و ناز و حاجِب و دربان بدین درگاه نیست
The tavern door is for the true and single-hued
the self-sellers find no path to where the wine is brewed.
بر درِ میخانه رفتن کارِ یکرنگان بود
خودفروشان را به کویِ می‌فروشان راه نیست
All this comes from my ill-formed, shapeless frame
else your honor over all heads stays the same.
هر چه هست از قامتِ ناسازِ بی اندام ماست
ور نه تشریفِ تو بر بالایِ کس کوتاه نیست
I'm slave to the tavern master whose grace flows constantly
the sheikh and the ascetic come and go in charity.
بندهٔ پیرِ خراباتم که لطفش دایم است
ور نه لطفِ شیخ و زاهد، گاه هست و گاه نیست
If Hafez shuns the honored seat, it's from his lofty soul
the dregs-drinking lover craves no wealth or worldly goal.
حافظ ار بر صدر ننشیند ز عالی‌مشربیست
عاشقِ دُردی‌کش اندر بندِ مال و جاه نیست
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 8/10. This poem contains profound philosophical statements. The verse 'in the path, whatever comes before the wayfarer is his good—on the straight path, no one is astray' is a powerful statement about acceptance and trust in the spiritual journey. The observation about the 'high, simple, many-patterned ceiling' being an unsolvable riddle is a striking image of the universe's mystery. The verse about the tavern elder's grace being 'constant' versus the sheikh's grace being 'sometimes is and sometimes is not' is a bold statement. The poem's combination of philosophical depth and spiritual insight makes it very engaging.
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