Gyric poems of Ha'fez

الا يا ايها الساقي ادر كاسا و ناولها
O saki, Pass the brimming goblet round-
Love seemed so simple, hazards now abound!
Thank to the breez-blown musk from charming curls
Our hearts in blood of misery are drowned.
What safety in my lovers house,
when bells ring out their call the caravan to load?
Colour your mat with wine, If magus bids you:
The traveller knows the custom and the road.
Dark night and fear of waves and whirlpool's terror:
The burdenless on shore know not our state;
My pleasure-seeking brought me ill-repute.
What masks the mystery men celebrate?
To Find God, Hafiz, you must not have flown:
On finding him, this world you must thisown

روز وصل دوستداران ياد باد
that day of friendship when we met---Recall;
Recall those days of regret, Recall
As bitter poison grief my palate sours:
The sound: "Be it sweet!" at feasts of ours Recall.
My friends, it may be have forgotton long;
But I a thousand times that throng Recall;
And now while fettered by misfortune's chain,
All those who grateful sought my gain Recall.
Though thousand rivers from my eye descend,
That Zindarud, Where gardeners, Recall;
No more from HAFIZ' lips shall secrets pass:
Those who once kept them, I, alas! Recall.

فكر بلبل همه آنست كه گل شد يارش
The nightingale reflects upon the friendship of the roses with a mind clear, The rose ponder upon the ways to be coy and demure in that affair.
A ravishing heart does not slay lovers.
A leader would care for his followers;
It's pertinent to see a ruby heart bubbling blood:
when the pottery has slackened the trade of ruby with the sleight of hand; The birds learned warbling from the grace of the rose, or else-
All the melodies were not deviced in it's beak and nose;
Who ever passes through the alley of my beloved,
Let him take heed: the walls could break his head;
The one who has sojourned and accompanied by hearts a hundred, Wherever he is, Oh Lord, keep him safe and reversed; Salvation and welfare are nice and desirous,
But do not be blind to love, too, which is precious,
The sufi, who wears his hat tipped, is just one the spree,
Two more drinks shall make his turban toppled free;
Hafez's heart that is used to see your sight,
Is pampered with union, never treat it with slight.

گفتم غم تو دارم گفتا غمت سرآيد
I am doleful on your part, I said, Your sorrows shall depart, she replied,
Be my moon alight, I begged if it's within my might, she mermered;
Learn the mores of fidality from lovers compassionate: I said
Those with good look can hardely find this commensurate, she added;
I shall block the route to the sight of your fancy:
As a bird I shall find a way yonder to see,
The aroma of your hair led me astray,
If you knew well, that was the right way;
How nice is the fresh air of the morning,
Refreshing is the breeze that comes from the darling;
The sweet drinks of your lips slain me with desire:
Be subservient my dear, the lord is kind to the men dire;
Your merciful heart when wil l it resolve to peace, I said
Untile the time is ripe, Don't reveal it to else please;
The time of pleasure how soon did it end? I said,
Be silent Hafez, this gloom shall expire too, she replied.

منم كه شهره ي شهرم به عشق ورزيدن
I am a celebrity in the city of my amour,
I have not tainted my eyes with sights without glamour;
We shall be faithful, endure taunts and stay merry,
By the rule of our faith, to take offence is sheer heresy;
I asked the sage for the ways of deliverance,
Ordering his drink murmured, "Gloce over
malevolence;"
What is the desire of the heart from the verdure of
the universe:
By the pupils of the eyes pick flowers from your face;
To ruin self-esteem and hsughtiness, I took up the
wine;
and to wash away vanity and conceit from self
design;

بود آيا كه در ميكده ها بگشايند
Could it ever happen, that they open the tavern's door
And untie the knots that have entangled me so more
If doors are shut for the wishes of a some selfish piety,
And they shall open for the sake of diety;
The purity of the hearts of the morning drinkers,
Opens up many a door with the the prayers;
Write a letter of condolence to the daughter of the vine,
So that all the young wine tenders dishevel their hair'd whine;
For the demice of wine cut the tresses of the harp'
As all partners shed blood tears.
They've shut the doors of the tavern, Oh Lord! Do not permit!
That they open the ports to their treachery and deceit;
Hafez! unker the robe you wear, it shall be revealed Tomorrow, by the prayers, many tricks that are concealed.
‍

فاش مي گويم و از گفته ي خود دلشادم
بنده ي عشقم و از هر دو جهان آزادم
I declare openly and I am pleased to admit:
As the slave of love to neither of the worlds I submit;
As a bird celestial, how can I define seperation?
And how I was trapped in net of unblessed afflictiom;
I was an angel and my abode paradise superior,
Adam brought me to this ruination inferior;
The shade of the tree the charm of the nymph,
And the flowing of the stream,
I had in paradise ignored them all for your sake and esteem;
On my heart's slate, there is no image but th elegance of your stature,
What to do! I have learned no other word from my divine teacher;
Astrologers are unable to locate my luck star in sight,
Tell me oh Lord! of which constellation,
do I have the birth right?
Since I have become to the tavern of love a bondsman,
Sorrow comes for solicitation, now and again as a clan;
If the pupils of my eyes drink the blood of my heart,
Serves me right as I love someone else's sweetheart;
Wipe out Hafez's tears by the tip of your hair,
Otherwise the incessant flood wipes me out clear.

بيا تا گل بر افشانيم و مي در ساغر اندازيم
فلك را سقف بشكافيم و طرحي نو در اندازيم
Come on and let's strew flowers and fill up our cups with wine,
Tear apart the azure ceiling and carve a new design;
If armies of sorrow attack lovers to shed blood,
I shall join forces with the Saki to wipe them out in a tide;
I shall fill the chalice with rose water and the wine purple,
And sweeten the fragrant breeze of the thurible;
O. minstrel! You have a fiddle tuned, sing a lyric boon,
And we shall rejoice, sing and dance till we swoon;
O. gentel Zephyr! take out dust to that lofty dear
Who is the king of beauties, and let us see her sight clear;
One boosts of wisdom, another talks idle,
Let's leave the case, before the eternal Judge;
If you desire the garden of Eden, you better come to the inn,
There, you shall ascend into paradise direct from the wine
In shiraz, they care not about eloquence and voices sweet,
Hafez! Let's leave this town and find somewhere else to inhabit.

عيب رندان مكن اي زاهد پاكيزه سرشت
كه گناه دگران بر تو نخواهند نوشت
Tell the devout reverned not to cavil at the tippler,
As the guilt of others shall not be a charge in his ledger;
Whether my deeds good or vicious you care about your own, Finally one gathers the yeilds from seeds, he has sown; Everyone seeks a sweetheart, Whether he's drunk or in the alert
Love has no preference for the place: synagogue, mosque or the fire-temple
My head is resigned to the walls of the tavern, thick,
The contender, ignorant of my words, has his head and the brick; Do not disappoint me of the eternal grace of the Almighty, Behinde the scene , you can't discern the good from the ugly; I am not the only one thrown out of the veil of moral, my forefather, Adam, too had to leave the paradise eternal; Hafez! On the day of demise If you've have a cup of wine, you will be taken direct to the heavens from tavern.

ياد باد آن كه نهانت نظري با ما بود
رقم مهر تو بر چهره ي ما پيدا بود
Hast thou forgotten when when thy stolen glance
was turned to me, when on my happy face
Clearly thy love was writ, which doth enhance
All happiness? Or when my sore disgrace (Hast thou forgot?) drew from thine eyes reproof,
And made thee hold thy sweet red lips aloof,
Dowered, like Jesus's breath, with healing grace?
Hast thou forgotten how the glorious,
Swift nights flew past, the cup of dawn brimmed high?
My love and I alone, God favouring us!
And when she likes a waning moon did lie,
And sleep had drawn his coif about her brow,
Hast thou forgot? Heaven's crecsent moon would bow the the head, and in her service pace the sky!
Hast thou forgotten, when a sojourner
Within the tavern gates and drunk with wine,
I found love's passionate wisdom hidden there,
Which in the mosque none even now devine?
The goblet's carbuncle (hast thou forgot?)
Laughed out aloud, and speech flew hot
And fast between thy ruby lips and mine!
Hast thou forgotten when thy cheek's dear torch
Lighted the beacon on desire in me,
And when my heart, like foolish moths that that scorch
Their wings and yet return, turned all to thee?
Within the banquet-hall of good repure
(Hast thou forgot?) the wine's self-pressed my suit,
And filled the morn with drunken jollity!
Hast thou forgotten when thou laid'st aright
The uncut gems of Hafiz's inmost thought,
And side by side thy sweet care strung the bright
Array of verse on verse-hast thou forgot?

صبحدم مرغ چمن با گل نو خاسته گفت
At dawn, the free bird of the lawn had a colloquy with the sprout: Blooms like you are spread throughout, no cause for your flout; The bud grinned: H tade no offence to face the truth, but no lover confronts his sweetheart with words such brute; If you desire to drink ruby wine from a studded chalice, beware there are many a pearl to pierce with the tip of lashes, if you care; One would never feel the warmth of affection,
If he does not sweep the dust off the tavern with his complexion; At the flower garden, the weather was charming, The tresses of hyacinth were tousled by the breeze of the morning, I asked about the whereabout of jam's mythical: Alas! the flourishing wealth has taken a nap; The world of love cannot be revealed by the tongue, let the wine tender serve her round and cut short the dialogue; The tears of Hafez washed away patience and wisdom to the ocean, What can I do, vexation of love could not remain arcance?

ترسم كه اشك در غم ما پرده در شود
وين راز سر به مهر به عالم سمر شود

I fear that my tears remove the cover of my love affair,
As soon the mystery becomes unveiled in the far and near,
Ston my turn into a transparent garnet,
A verity but, with great suffering and and lots of fret,
I shal go to the tavern, whimpering, to ask for justness,
There with a drink, I may be relieved from rancor and sadness,
I have sent arrows of prayers from many a corner,
Maybe one would hit the aim that I revere;
Oh my soul! recount the tale to my dear,
But whisper it low that zephyr could not hear,
From the reflections of your face, I have gained much favor,
The blessing of your foot steps turns dust into goldenware;
I'm amazed with the vyinginsolence of my rival,
May a pauper never become a man who gains approval,
There are points besides beauty that makes one:
To the taste of men of insight, a person renown,
The arrogance that fortifies the palace of coalescence,
Would remove many a head at its threshold, attemping intrance;
Hafez! the fragrance of the tips of her hair is in your hand
Be reticent, otherwise, zephyr is bound to find.

در خرابات مغان گر گذر افتد بازم

Within the Magian tavern
The light of God I see;
In such a place O wonder!
Shines out such radiancy.
Boas, not, O king of pilgrims,
The privilage of thee:
Thou viewest God's own temple;
God shews himself to me,
Combed from the fair ones' tresses
I win sweet musk to-day,
But ah! the distant fancy
That I should gain cathay.
A firy heart tears flowing,
Night's sorrow, Dawn's lament-
All this to me dispenses
Your glance benevolent.
my fancy's way thine image
Arresteth momently;
Whom shall i tell, What marvels
Whithin this veil i see?
Not all the musk of china,
The scents of Tartary,
Excel those subtle odours
The dawn breez wafts to me.
If Hafez plays at glances,
Friends, be not critical:
For truly, As I know him,
He truly loves you all.

سحر به بوي گلستان دمي شدم در باغ

Twas morning, and the lord of day
had shed his light o'er Shiraz towers,
where bulbuls trill their love-lorn lay
To serenade the maiden flowers.
Like them oppreesed by love's sweet pain,
I wander in a garden fair;
And there to cool my throbbing brain
I woo the perfumed morning air.
The damask rose with beauty gleams, it's face all bathed in rubby light, And shines like
some bright star that beams From out of the somber veil of night. The very bulbul, as the
glow
Of pride and pasion warms its breast, Forgets awhile its former woe In pride that conquers
love's unrest.
The sweet narcissus opens its eyes, a tear drop glistening on the lash, As though twere
gazing piteously upon the tulip's bleeding gash.
The lily seemed to menace me,
And showed its curved andquivering blade,
While every frail anemone.
A gossip's open mouth displayed.
And here and there a graceful group
Of flowers like men who worship wine,
Each raising up his little stoup
To catch the dewdrop's draught devine,
And others yet like Hebes stand,
Their dripping vases downward turned,
As if dispending to the band
The wind for which their hearts had burned,
This moral it is mine to sing:
Go learn a lesson of the flowers;
Joy's season is in life's young spring,
Then seiz, like them, the fleeting hours.

May your goodness always increase
And your smiling face never cease
In our head the thought of your love
Every day is on the increase.
Every cedar and every spruce
From your height may you hear their pleas
The eye not intrigued by thee
Its tear drops a bloody disease.
Your eye for mesmerizing hearts
Is a magician and master-tease.
Wherever a heart is longing for thee
Impatiently shears its own fleece.
The beauty of all the lovers
Beside your swan is ugly geese.
The heart that is out of love’s lease
From the circle of union release.
Hafiz’s soul, your ruby lips ease
Away from base lips, if you please.
© Shahriar Shahriari
حسـن تو همیشه در فزون باد
رویت همه ساله لالـه گون باد
اندر سر ما خیال عشـقـت
هر روز کـه باد در فزون باد
هر سرو که در چـمـن درآید
در خدمـت قامتت نـگون باد
چشـمی که نه فتنه تو باشد
چون گوهر اشک غرق خون باد
چـشـم تو ز بـهر دلربایی
در کردن سـحر ذوفـنون باد
هر جا که دلیسـت در غـم تو
بی صبر و قرار و بی سکون باد
قد هـمـه دلـبران عالـم
پیش الـف قدت چو نون باد
هر دل که ز عشق توست خالی
از حلـقـه وصـل تو برون باد
لعـل تو که هست جان حافظ
دور از لـب مردمان دون باد

O Lord, this orb is no more than your bat and ball
The expanse of universe, your arena and your hall
The victorious queen is in awe of your lock
Your playing the course, victorious eyes enthrall.
Mercury’s composition speaks of your grandeur
Even the Universal Mind is at your beacon call.
The splendor of the trees of Paradise beside yours pale
Based on your majesty, Paradise you install.
Not only animate and inanimate are at your call
Whatever is in this world, at your command are they all.

For a long time my Beloved no message sent
Didn’t write a greeting, and no word sent
I sent a hundred letters, yet that mounted King
Dispatched no messages, no greeting sent.
Towards the wild and mind-ridden me
No tame deer and no fine grouse sent
Knew that I, my hearts bind, would fly away
Yet from his vast stores, no trap sent.
Alas that sweet & joyful cup bearer
Knew that I was drunk, yet no cup sent.
Often I faked my standing in life
No news of a place for me was sent.
Hafiz be polite, there is no questioning
If the King no message to his subjects sent.

Last night, pansy addressed flowers and itself displayed
My swinging in this world, so and so's hair would braid.
My heart was a treasure chest of secrets, the hands of fate
Closed and locked and its key, to my Beloved bade.
Physician sent the broken me to my Beloved and said
My panacea and cure, only by Your hands are made.
May he be healthy, and happy, and in bliss
That his healing hands upon the needy laid.
Take your own advice, O incessant counselor
Sweet lover and wine, whosoever forbade?
Passed by poor me, and towards my rivals strayed
Said, "my poor Hafiz has given his life, I am afraid."

Whoever, to your face, such cheerful colors gave
Patience and serenity for poor me can also save
Whoever trained your hair so arrogantly to behave
His grace, such injustice for poor me can also waive.
I gave up my desires on the first day when
Beloved took my heart's rein and made me her slave.
If there's no golden treasure, at least satisfied I remain
He who gave that to the king, made this the lot of the knave.
This world, just like a bride, in appearance is glorified
He who gave his life to this, has only dug his own grave.
From now on, I spend my time in nature with rivers & trees
While the breeze, of time of spring, would rant and rave.
Hafiz's heart was brave, rode hardships wave after wave
Though separations deprave, the King as our healer gave.

He, who always keeps his trust in the One
The One keeps all evils from him apart and gone.
I will not tell the tale of a friend, save to a friend
For it is a friend who keeps a friend’s word anon.
O heart make your living so that if you slip
The Angels will hold your upraised hands to the sun.
And if you want the Beloved not to break His oath
Keep your oath such that the chain won’t come undone.
And if one day upon that lock you see my heart,
Ask for His mercy, to keep my place, give to none.
When I asked him to keep my heart, replied
Ask the Father in Heaven, I am a helpless son.
My health and wealth, heart and soul, I give for Thee
May god keep compassion in my heart, always won.
Where is the dust of thy path, so Hafiz keep
In memory of the morning breeze’s gentle run.

With clear wine, a wise one washed his behind
Early morning in tavern, who had homage on his mind.
When the golden cup of sun, descended from the skies
Curve of the new moon, of the curved cup would remind.
Happy is the one whose prayers and needs stem from his pain
With tears of his eyes and blood of his veins, cleans his behind.
The head priest leading prayers should be the one
Whose shrinking gown, blood of the daughter of vine defined.
My heart bought upheavals for the locks of that flowing hair
I know not that in this trade, what profit it could ever find.
If the head priest asks for me and my kind
Tell him Hafiz, with wine, is baptizing his behind

Dervish laid a trap with slight of hands and trick of the eyes
With the help of this trickster merry-go-round mystifies.
Tricks of his fate will keep the rabbit in his hat
How can you trick those whom to secrets are wise?
Come hither wine-bearer, the Sufi's beautiful lover
Came with full grace, and evaded their many, many tries.
O minstrel, with what tune was inspired to head for Iraq
Longingly sang to return to the Arabian Hejaz?
Come O heart, let's commend ourselves unto the Lord
Keep from rolled up sleeve that outstretched arm belies.
Undeceived, whoever lost himself in compassion
In the Spirit of Love, his soul upward flies.
In the court of the Truth, at the time of our demise
Shame on he, who permissible never defies.
Where to now, O proud partridge, halt and pause
Your delusions, prayers of the pious cat, never ever identifies.
Hafiz, mad Dervishes upon the path, don't criticize
Freedom from false piety for eternity is our prize.

O heart, the pain of love burned once again
Beloved departed and drove the lover insane.
O flowers, you played your magic tricks
Alas that the drunk the sober shall reign.
My tears were my friends, since Beloved stayed away
My unkind fate from helping would refrain.
At dawn Beloved's house's bright glow
The lover's wounded heart would strain and pain.
O bearer give me a cup, since the hidden hand that writes
Has plans, access to which nobody can gain.
The artist of firmaments, earth and spheres
Nobody knows what plans it would feign.
Burning love, Hafiz's heart would entertain
Beloved from old times this poor lover has slain.

O friends, repented from drunkenness, daughter of vine
Began enforcing the law, became a preacher of divine.
From beyond entered our midst, let her now rest
And protests of others for separation decline.
Bring good news O heart, for the musician of love
Played in drunkenness, and found a cure for this wine.
Neither wash away its color, nor with a hundred fires burn
The stain of that wine which is the mystic’s gown’s design.
The flower of union with the breath of life bloomed
And the singing bird of joy, to the petal sang a joyous line.
In the face of jealousy, with humbleness yourself refine
Honor and wealth, desire, creed, with pride your head align.

For years my heart was in search of the Grail
What was inside me, it searched for, on the trail

That pearl that transcends time and place
Sought of divers whom oceans sail

My quest to the Magi my path trace
One glance solved the riddles that I Braille

Found him wine in hand and happy face
In the mirror of his cup would watch a hundred detail

I asked, "when did God give you this Holy Grail?"
Said, "on the day He hammered the world’s first nail!"

Even the unbeliever had the support of God
Though he could not see, God’s name would always hail.

All the tricks of the mind would make God seem like fraud
Yet the Golden Calf beside Moses’ rod would just pale.

And the one put on the cross by his race
His crime, secrets of God would unveil

Anyone who is touched by God’s grace
Can do what Christ did, without fail.

And what of this curly lock that’s my jail
Said this is for Hafiz to tell his tale

The radiance of your goodness manifested in eternity
Love appeared and set fire to the mountain, earth and sea
Your face radiated, and still saw angels were loveless
Setting this fire on man, was then your zealous decree
Mind wanted to turn this fire to its own guiding light
You set the world in chaos with your ardent, radiant glee
False seeker sought to witness the secrets of the world
Hidden hand came and kept away his undeserving plea
To others fate brought a lot, filled with pleasure and joy
My sad heart's lot was to be saddened on its knee
My sublime soul was longing for a glimpse of your face
My hand running through the locks of your hair lovingly
Hafiz wrote his love poems only on the day that he
Let the pen write from the heart that is joyous and free.

Morning breeze, its fragrance will exhale
The old world will once again youthfully sail.
Tulip will bring a red cup to the meadows
Narcissus' eyes from poppy will grow pale.
When would nightingale put up with such abuse
In the chamber of the rose cry and wail.
I traded the temple for the tavern, fault me not
Prayer is long and stale, time is frail.
Leave not joy of the now till the morrow
Who can vouch that the morrow, the now shall trail?
Month of Sha'aban put not down the jug of wine
Till the end of Ramadan you'll miss this Holy Grail.
Hold dear all the flowers and commune
Came to be and will whither with a breeze or a gale.
This feast is for friends, O minstrel, play and sing
Sing again, it came thus and went thus, to what avail?
Hafiz, for your sake, entered this tale
Walk with him, say farewell, he'll tear the veil.

I see no friends around, whatever happened to every friend?
I see no-one I love, when did come to an end?
Water of life has turned dark, where is glorious Elias?
Flowers are all bleeding, whence the breeze which branches bend?
Nobody says that a friend has got the right to befriend
What has come of loyalty? Whatever happened to every friend?
For years no gem has been dug from the mine of loyalty
What happened to sunshine? And what about wind and rain’s trend?
This was the home of the Kings, and the land of the Kind-hearted
When did kindness end, and since when Kings pretend?
The ball of compassion and joy is now inside the field
Why is it that in this game still no players will attend?
Thousands of flowers are in full bloom, yet not a song
What happened to nightingales? Where did those thousands descend?
Venus is not making music any more, did all her instruments burn?
Nobody is in the mood, to whom do the wine-sellers tend?
Hafiz, secrets divine nobody knows, stay silent
Whom do you ask, why isn’t our turning fate now on the mend?

From now on, that tall spruce has my command
Whose graceful stature uprooted me from the land.
I wish not for song and wine, unveil your face
Cause your beauty my passion's fire has fanned.
No face can be the mirror of bridal chamber of Fate
Except one upon which stallion hooves stand.
I spoke of my secrets, said just be with your sorrows
My patience has run out, do you hear what I demand?
O hunter, leave my deer and let it live
Be ashamed of its eyes, with that rope in your hand.
My earthly life is feeble, weak, impotent
How can I kiss those lips, majestic, grand?
Hafiz, let your heart be tied by a hair strand
Madmen better remain in chain and band.

O wine-bearer brighten my cup with the wine
O minstrel say good fortune is now mine.
The face of my Beloved is reflected in my cup
Little you know why with wine, I always myself align.
Eternal is the one whose heart has awakened to Love
This is how Eternal Records my life define.
So proud are the tall beauties of the world
Outshines all the others this handsome spruce of mine.
O breeze if by chance you pass through friendly gardens
From me to my Beloved, please give a sign;
Ask why you choose to forget my name?
Will come the one to whom an audience you decline.
Intoxication pleases my Beloved and my Lord
To the wine, they would assign, my life's design.
What if on Judgment Day, no favor would be gained
From eating bread and leaving a forbidden water so fine?
Hafiz, let a tear drop or two leave your eyes,
May we ensnare the Bird of Union, divine.
The sea of the skies and the gondola of the moon
With the grace of the Master, radiantly shine.

The bright moon reflects your radiant face
Your snowcapped cheekbones supply water of grace
My heavy heart desires an audience with your face
Come forward or must return, your command I will embrace.
Nobody for good measures girded your fields
Such trades no one in their right mind would chase.
Our dormant fate will never awake, unless
You wash its face and shout brace, brace!
Send a bouquet of your face with morning breeze
Perhaps inhaling your scent, your fields we envision & trace.
May you live fulfilled and long, O wine-bearer of this feast
Though our cup was never filled from your jug or your vase.
My heart is reckless, please, let Beloved know
Beware my friend, my soul your soul replace.
O God, when will my fate and desires hand in hand
Bring me to my Beloved hair, in one place?
Step above the ground, when you decide to pass us by
On this path lie bloody, the martyrs of human race.
Hafiz says a prayer, listen, and say amen
May your sweet wine daily pour upon my lips and my face.
O breeze tell us about the inhabitants of city of Yazd
May the heads of unworthy roll as a ball in your polo race.
Though we are far from friends, kinship is near
We praise your goodness and majestic mace.
O Majesty, may we be touched by your grace
I kiss and touch the ground that is your base.

When you hear the lovers’ words, think them not a mistake
You don’t recognize these words, the error must be your take.
The here and hereafter cannot tame my spirit and soul
Praise God for all the intrigue in my mind that is at stake.
I know not who resides within my heart
Though I am silent, he must shake and quake.
My heart went through the veil, play a song
Hark, my fate, this music I must make.
I paid no heed, worldly affairs I forsake
It is for your beauty, beauty of the world I partake.
My heart is on fire, I am restless and awake
To the tavern to cure my hundred day headache.
My bleeding heart has left its mark in the temple
You have every right to wash my body in a wine lake.
In the abode of the Magi, I am welcome because
The fire that never dies, in my heart is awake.
What was the song the minstrel played?
My life is gone, but breathing, I still fake!
Within me last night, the voice of your love did break
Hafiz’s breast still quivers and shakes for your sake.

Disheveled hair, sweaty, smiling, drunken, and
With a torn shirt, singing, the jug in hand
Narcissus loudly laments, on his lips, alas, alas!
Last night at midnight, came and sat right by my bed-stand
Brought his head next to my ears, with a sad song
Said, O my old lover, you are still in dreamland
The lover who drinks this nocturnal brew
Infidel, if not worships the wine's command
Go away O hermit, fault not the drunk
Our Divine gift from the day that God made sea and land
Whatever He poured for us in our cup, we just drank
If it was a cheap wine or heavenly brand
The smile on the cup's face and Beloved's hair strand
Break many who may repent, just as Hafiz falsely planned.

When God designed your features and joined your brows
Paved my way, then trapped me with your gestures & bows
The spruce and I, both rooted to the ground
Fate, like a fine cloth belt, its bind endows.
United the knots of my doing and of the budding heart
The fragrant breeze, when to you it made its vows.
Fate convinced me to be enslaved to thee
Yet nothing moves unless your will allows.
Like an umbilical cord, don't wrap around my heart
It is your flowing lock of hair that I espouse.
You were the desire of another, O breeze of union,
Alas, my heart's hope and fire you douse.
I said because of your infliction I shall leave my house
Smilingly said go ahead Hafiz, with chained hooves and paws.

The hermit has no need to watch the stage
Since Beloved is at home, no need for pilgrimage.
O soul you have a pact with the Divine,
Then ask how should I my life manage?
O King of goodness, I swear that I’m on fire
Then ask how this beggar should I manage?
I am the master of demands, yet my tongue is still
In your compassion to ask is an outrage.
No need to plot, if our blood you demand,
Our body is yours to take at any age.
Essence of the Beloved is the Holy Grail,
In expressing our needs, we need not engage.
I put up with the hardships of the sea
No need for the sea, once I earned my pearly wage.
No need to deal with fake prophets because
When friends are here, false claims disparage.
O begging lover, when Beloved’s life giving lips
Give their dutiful gifts, begging discourage.
Hafiz desist, for art self-radiates
Needless debate with fake artist and false sage.

Keep to your own affairs, why do you fault me?
My heart has fallen in love, what has befallen thee?
In the center of he, whom God made from nothing
There is a subtle point that no creature can see.
Until His lips fulfill my lips like a reed
From all the worldly advice I must flee.
The beggar of your home, of the eight heavens has no need
The prisoner of your love, from both worlds is thus free.
Though my drunkenness has brought forth my ruin
My essence is flourished by paying that ruinous fee.
O heart for the pain and injustice of love do not plead
For this is your lot from the justice of eternity.
Hafiz don’t help magic and fantasy further breed
The world is filled with such, from sea to sea.

Though the wine is joyous, and the wind, flowers sorts
Harp music and scent of wine, the officer reports.
If you face an adversary and a jug of wine
Choose the wine because, fate cheats and extorts.
Up your ragged, patched sleeves, hide & keep your cup
Like this flask of wine, fate too bleeds and distorts.
With my teary eyes, I cleanse my robe with wine
Self-restraint and piety is what everyone exhorts.
Seek not your joy in the turn of the firmaments
Even my filtered clear red fluid, dregs sports.
This earth and sky is no more than a bleeding sieve
That sifts and sorts kingly crowns and courts.
Hafiz, your poems invaded Fars and Iraqi ports
It is now the turn of Baghdad and Tabrizi forts.

I long to open up my heart
For my heart do my part.
My story was yesterday’s news
From rivals cannot keep apart.
On this holy night stay with me
Till the morning, do not depart.
On a night so dark as this,
My course, how can I chart?
O breath of life, help me tonight
That in the morn I make a start.
In my love for you, I will
My self and ego thwart.
Like Hafiz, being love smart;
I long to master that art.

Amidst flowers, wine in hand, my lover I embrace
King of the world is my slave on such a day in such a place.
Bring no candles to this, our festive feast, tonight
Full moon is pale beside the light of my lover's face.
Drinking of wine, our creed has sanctified
Yet without you, drinking wine is disgrace.
My ears only hear the song of the harp and the reed
My eyes see your ruby lips, and the cup chase.
Keep perfumes away from our feast tonight
The fragrance of your hair, our feast will grace.
Speak not to me of sweetness of candy and sugar;
Since my lips, sweetness of your lips, did once trace.
Your treasures are hidden in the ruins of my heart
And my path to the tavern has now become sacred space.
Speak not of disgrace; that's my fame and my base
And fame and high place, I despise and debase.
Drunk and disconcerted and demented and deceived
Show me one who's not, within our town and our race.
Fault not the pious one, because he, also, like us,
Is seeking love and grace, in his own way, at his own pace.
Hafiz, wine in hand, always your lover embrace
'Cause flowers and joy fill this festive time and space.

The corner of the tavern is my altar, where I pray
At dawn, the mantra of the Old Magi, I say.
Fear not if the harp plays not at sun's morning ascent
My morning cry of repentance is the music I play.
Thank God, free from beggars and kings, away, I stay;
Homage, to the beggar at the door of the Beloved, I pay.
For Thee, in the mosque and the tavern, my time, I spent;
By God, from this intent, I never ran nor walked astray.
Only, Angel of Death's blade can uproot my tent
Running from love and grace has never been my way.
From the time that I made my search for Thee my intent
I lean upon the throne on which the sun may lay.
Not your fault was the sins that were put into your clay
Nonetheless accept them, Hafiz, and good taste display.