Yester night, from temple to tavern, our Master went,
Brothers of the Way! 'What advice can be to us lent? '
How can we, the disciples, to the qibla make our way,
...
Up, cupbearer! Let us pay the wine's wage
Strew with dust the sorrow of our age
Give me the wine cup; that, joy-possessed,
...
O! Your radiant face is reflected by the moon
The dimple in your chin is to loveliness a boon
Hankering for your sight, my spirit leaps to my throat
...
O Sufi! Come and see how my cup mirrors light
Tempting you to glance at the ruby wine so bright
Of rapt revelers, question the secret beyond the veil
...
O breeze! Softly, gently tell that charming gazelle:
'For you, straying in the mount and desert to us befell.
Wherefore the sugar sweet maiden - May she live long -
...
O Saki! Pass around and offer the cup, for
Love which seemed easy makes uneasy lore
Her locks emanated the scent of a musk skin
...
I pine away. Sages, plead with God for my woe
Alas, my secret pain, the world is soon to know
Our bark has stranded; O gentle breeze, arise!
...
Who to the sultan's men this request will convey
'As a king by God's leave, send not this beggar away? '
I seek refuge in God from my foe sinister,
...
Should that charming Turk of Shiraz win my soul
Samarkand and Bukhara, I will barter for her mole
Saki! Serve the remnant wine; in Eden, you cannot gaze
...
Again into gardens and orchards, the vernal glory arose;
The melodious bulbul received news of a coming rose
Breeze! If you blow again at the meads green of age,
...
Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafez of Shiraz known by his pen name Hafez was a Persian poet. His collected works are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature and are to be found in the homes of most people in Iran and Afghanistan, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.The work of Hafiz left an impact on such Western writers as Thoreau, Goethe, and Ralph Waldo Emerson—the latter referring to him as 'a poet's poet.')
Ghazal 9: Brothers Of The Way
Yester night, from temple to tavern, our Master went,
Brothers of the Way! 'What advice can be to us lent? '
How can we, the disciples, to the qibla make our way,
When the Master turned to where the tavern lay? '
In the Magian's tavern, we too will our sojourn make:
Our fate led us from primordiality to the path we take
Could the mind see what joy the heart in love received,
Wise men would lose mind, by our chain to be deceived
Your beaming face revealed to us from above a sign:
Grace and goodness are now destined to combine
Deep in the night, will your stony heart to softness turn
For our fiery sighs, and the grief our breasts can burn?
Hafiz! Silent! The arrows of our sighs pierce the sphere, Have pity on your soul! Our missiles, avoid and fear!
English Translation © Ali Salami
Tehran, Iran
salami2046@gmail.com