Last night, I vowed to drive passion for her face from my mind.
She said; “where are the chains for me to manage this Majnun?”
I likened her stature to the cypress- she drew back in anger.
Friends, the beloved took the truth badly- what am i to do?
I made a crude remark to the heart ravisher, full of pardon-
“Dally with me, and refine my genius into measured verse”.
My face pales from that subtle nature without fault.
O Saqi, bring the cup that colors the cheek with rose!
O breeze from the camp of Salma, for god’s sake for how long
Do i cry over all the pieces of her scattered life?
I, who has found the treasure of the friend’s infinite beauty,
Will make a hundred beggars like myself rich as Qarun.
O Moon of the sovereign Prophet, remember the slave Hafez,
That I pray for the dominion of that beauty waxing daily.
notes: Majnun= legendary lover of pre islamic Arabia,
whose name means “jinxed by a jinn”. Salma= figure
from pre islamic poetry in a genre in which the absent
beloved is remembered by recalling their trysting places.
qarun= a pre islamic figure of great wealth. chains=
“chains of curls”- the alluring and captivating charms of
the beloved.
