Poem #76
English Translation
Persian
Except your hallowed threshold I know no shelter here
for this bowed head no other door remains sincere.
جز آستان توام در جهان پناهی نیست
سرِ مرا به جز این در، حواله گاهی نیست
When foes unsheathe their swords I let my shield fall wide
my sword is but a sigh, a wail I cannot hide.
عدو چو تیغ کِشد، من سپر بیندازم
که تیغِ ما به جز از ناله‌ای و آهی نیست
Why should I flee the tavern's lane or break its swirl
no finer rite or road is found in all this world.
چرا ز کویِ خرابات روی برتابم
کز این بهم، به جهان هیچ رسم و راهی نیست
If Time should torch my harvest-life in tyranny
then let it burn; I do not have a single straw to plea.
زمانه گر بزند آتشم به خرمنِ عمر
بگو بسوز که بر من به برگِ کاهی نیست
I serve the darting narcissus of that cypress tall
drunk on her pride she casts no glance on anyone at all.
غلامِ نرگسِ جَمّاشِ آن سَهی سَروم
که از شرابِ غرورش به کس نگاهی نیست
Chase not another's harm and then do what you please
in our law no other sin so grave as that exists.
مباش در پی آزار و هر چه خواهی کن
که در شریعتِ ما غیر از این گناهی نیست
Ride on with gathered rein, O sovereign of fair grace
no traveler on this path lacks craving for redress.
عِنان کشیده رو ای پادشاهِ کشورِ حُسن
که نیست بر سر راهی که دادخواهی نیست
When every path displays a snare prepared to press
no haven shields me better than her guarding tress.
چنین که از همه سو دامِ راه می‌بینم
بِه از حمایتِ زلفش مرا پناهی نیست
Deliver not Hafez's treasure to a tress and mark
such tasks lie far beyond the reach of any shadowed spark.
خزینهٔ دلِ حافظ به زلف و خال مده
که کارهای چنین، حَدِّ هر سیاهی نیست
Cultural Context
US Interest Rank: 7/10. This poem expresses complete devotion to the beloved. The verse about having 'no refuge' except the beloved's threshold is a powerful statement of dependence. The observation that 'in our religion, other than this there is no sin' is a bold statement about love's primacy. The verse about the sword being 'nothing except a lamentation and a sigh' is a poignant image of the lover's helplessness. The final verse's warning not to give the heart's treasury to tress and mole shows awareness of love's dangers. The poem's emotional intensity makes it relatable.
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