As long as name and form of wine and wine-house exist,
our head will be the dust on the Magian Elder’s path.
Before time began, the Magian Elder’s ring was in our ear;
we are and will be, the very same now, as we were then!
Ask for spiritual longing when you pass by my tomb-
it will be a place of pilgrimage for the rends of the world.
Go, self-possessed ascetic, because from my eye and yours
the secret of the veil is hidden, and will remain concealed.
That turk of mine, killer of lovers, went out drunk today
to make blood flow yet again from another’s eyes!
My eyes, longing for you that night as I lay my head in the grave,
will yearn and wait for the dawn’s breath on Resurrection Day.
If, by this hand, the good fortune of Hafez provides help-
the beloved’s curls will lay within the grasp of others!
notes: Magian Elder= mysterious spiritual being of pre-
Islamic faith, associated with the wine of love. rend= ardent,
unabashed lover of God who rejects religious authority. see link.
ring= the earring indicates the status of a slave. my eyes…= on
resurrection day, corpses are re-animated for the soul to await
judgement. “that turk…” = proverbially handsome youth.
