last night i had a dream in which the moon arose,
and brought to an end separation from her face.
the explanation? the traveling friend had returned.
o that she had so much sooner arrived by the door!
o saqi, the thought of you sublime, my happy omen!
you who arrives continually with glass and wine!
happy it were, for him to see in dream his own country,
so that the memory of its ways would serve as a guide to us.
if timeless grace were by power and pillage had,
khezar’s immortal youth would be iskandar’s.
remember the days when by our door and roof,
with each breath came a poem from the beloved!
how did your rival find such cruel occasions
if, at night, just one injustice found the judge’s door?
what do the raw ones know of love’s taste?
seek the ocean of heart and become lion hearted!
he who led you to a hard heart,
let his foot go bang a rock!
if another had written in the style of hafez,
the art-loving shah would have accepted him.
notes: khezar= immortal guide to the sufi. iskandar=
alexander the great (who died young).
