by Dick Davis
My life’s flashed by in longing for you
As lightning splits the night.
Seize these few moments while we’ve still
Time for our promised meeting,
Since no one knows what life will bring
And life, my dear, is fleeting.
How long shall we enjoy our dawns’
Sweet sleep, our morning wine?
Wake up, and think of this! Since life’s
Not yours for long, or mine.
She passed by yesterday, but gave
Me not a glance, not one;
My wretched heart, you’ve witnessed nothing
As life’s passed by, and gone.
But those whose lives are centered on
Your lovely mouth confess
No other thoughts than this, and think
Nothing of Nothingness.
An ambush waits on every side
Wherever we might tread,
And so life’s rider rides slack-reined,
Giving his horse its head.
I’ve lived my life without a life –
Don’t be surprised at this;
Who counts an absence as a life
When life is what you miss?
Speak Hafez! On the world’s page trace
Your poems’ narrative;
The words your pen writes will have life
When you no longer live.
OF ALL THE ROSES IN THE WORLD
A rosy face…is quite enough for me;
Beneath this swaying cypress tree
A shady place…is quite enough for me.
May hypocrites find somewhere else
To cant and prate –
Of all this weighty world, a full
Wine-glass’s weight…is quite enough for me.
They hand out heaven for good deeds!
The monastery
Where Magians live is better for
A sot like me…that’s quite enough for me.
Sit by this stream and watch as life
Flows swiftly on –
This emblem of the world that’s all
Too quickly gone…is quite enough for me.
See how the world’s bazaar pays cash,
See the world’s pain –
And if you’re not content with this
World’s loss and gain…they’re quite enough for me.
My friend is here with me – what more
Should I desire?
The riches of our talk are all
That I require…they’re quite enough for me.
Don’t send me from your door, O God,
To paradise –
For me, to wait here at Your street’s
End will suffice…that’s quite enough for me.
Hafez, don’t rail against your fate!
Your nature flows,
As does your verse, like water as
It comes and goes…that’s quite enough for me.
A LOVING FRIEND, GOOD WINE, A PLACE SECURE
From enemies –
What luck is yours if you can always lay
Your hands on these!
The world, with all its works, amounts to nothing,
With naught inside it –
A thousand times I’ve puzzled over this
And verified it.
Alas that I was ignorant till now –
But now I’m sure
The alchemy of joy’s the friend, the friend
And nothing more.
Go somewhere safe, treasure the time you’re given,
See you enjoy it –
Since bandits lie in wait to snatch your life,
And they’ll destroy it.
Come now – repentance over ruby lips
And wine’s red smile
Is just a whim, and one that Reason can’t
Count as worthwhile.
And if your slender waist’s not destined for
The likes of me,
I still know happiness when I invoke
Its memory;
And then your chin, that’s so delectable
And sweet I swear
A hundred thousand fancies could not plumb
The dimple there…
My tears are ruby-red, but that should come
As no surprise –
Your lips are ruby-red, it’s tears for them
That fill my eyes.
He laughed, “Hafez, I am the slave of your
Poetic nature –
Look what an utter fool he takes me for,
A stupid creature!”
LAST NIGHT THE WINE-SELLER, A MAN
Of great experience,
Conversed with me (and here I share
With you his secret sense):
“Go easy on yourself – the world’s
Harsh nature is to be
Hard on the man who’s hard upon
Himself continually.”
And then he gave me such a glass
Of wine its flashing light
Made Venus dance in heaven, and strike
Her lute in shared delight,
And cry, “Good health!” And he went on:
“Listen my boy, draw near,
Let sorrow go, take my advice,
If you have ears to hear;
And if your heart is red with blood,
Smile as red wine will smile;
Don’t cry out like a harp’s strings, though
You’re grieving all the while.
Until you pass this veil you can’t
Arrive at what is hidden;
To impure ears Sorush’s words
Must still remain forbidden.
But when it comes to love, life’s all
A listening and a speaking –
We must be then all open eyes
And ears forever seeking;
And self-promotion’s not the mode
A clever man employs –
Speak if you’ve knowledge, otherwise
See that you make no noise!”
Bring wine! Asef, the Lord of Time,
Who’s gracious and forgiving,
Already knows the dissipation
In which Hafez is living.
LOVE’S ROAD’S AN ENDLESS ROAD
where there’s no place to rest,
Where souls must sacrifice
themselves, and not protest;
Each moment that you give
your heart to love is good,
And there’s no need to see
what omens might suggest;
So take the libertine’s
sweet way; not every man
Is shown the road that leads
to such a treasure chest!
Don’t frighten us by saying
Reason prohibits it;
In our town that police-chief
has made not one arrest.
Clear eyes can glimpse Him, as
they glimpse the new moon’s sliver,
And not to every gaze
is this made manifest.
So ask your own eyes then
just who it is who slays us;
Stars have not sinned here, nor
have horoscopes transgressed!
Hafez’s tears have no
effect at all; you are
Like granite, as my heart’s
bewilderments attest.
MY HEART, GOOD FORTUNE IS THE ONLY FRIEND
Going along beside you that you need;
A breeze that’s scented with Shiraz’s gardens
Is all the guard to guide you that you need.
Poor wretch, don’t leave your lover’s home again,
Don’t be in such a hurry to depart –
A corner of our Sufi meeting place,
The journey in your heart…are all you need.
The claims of home, the promises you made
An ancient friend – these are enough to say
When making your excuses to the travelers
&n
bsp; Who’ve been along life’s way…they’re all you need.
If grief should leap out from some corner of
Your stubborn heart and ambush you, confide
Your troubles to our ancient Zoroastrian –
His precincts will provide…you all you need.
Sit yourself down upon the wine-shop’s bench
And take a glass of wine – this is your share
Of all the wealth and glory of the world,
And what you’re given there…is all you need.
Let go, and make life easy for yourself,
Don’t strain and struggle, always wanting more;
A glass of wine, a lover lovely as
The moon – you may be sure…they’re all you need.
The heavens give the ignorant their head,
Desire’s the only bridle they acknowledge –
Your fault is that you’re clever and accomplished,
And this same sin of knowledge…is all you need.
And you require no other prayer, Hafez,
Than that prayed in the middle of the night;
This and the morning lesson you repeat
As dawn displays her light…are all you need.
Don’t look for gifts from others; in both worlds –
This world, the world that is to come – your king’s
Kind bounty, and the Lord’s approval, are
The two essential things…they’re all you need.
ALTHOUGH OUR PREACHER MIGHT NOT LIKE
to hear me mention it,
He’ll never be a Moslem while
he’s such a hypocrite.
Learn to be dissolute; be kind –
this is far better than
To be a beast that won’t drink wine
and can’t become a man.
The essence must be wholly pure
if grace is to be ours;
If not, no stones will turn to pearls,
or coral come from flowers.
The Highest will fulfill His aims,
rejoice, my heart! No lies
Can make a devil Solomon
whatever tricks he tries.
I practice love, a noble trade,
and hope that I won’t see
Love bring, as other trades have done,
sorrow and grief to me.
Last night he said, “Tomorrow I
will give you your desire.”
O God, don’t let regret assail him
and make him out a liar!
I’ll pray that God adds goodness to
the beauty you possess,
So that you’ll cease to cause me such
distraction and distress.
Hafez, unless a mote aspires
and strives, it has no chance
To reach that source from which the sun
receives its radiance.
WHEN YOU DRINK WINE, SPRINKLE
A few drops on the ground –
What’s there to fear from sin
That spreads such joy around?
Go, drink up all you have,
Drink now and don’t delay –
Death’s dagger won’t delay
Dispatching you one day.
My cypress-slender love,
By the dust on which you tread,
Don’t hesitate to visit
My dust when I am dead.
In heaven or in hell,
For angels or for men,
In every faith – to hold back
Counts as a mortal sin.
The Architect of heaven
Who gave the world its shape
Has sealed its six directions
So that there’s no escape.
The daughter of the vine
Leads Reason all astray –
May the vine’s trellis stand
Unharmed till Judgment Day!
And may your dear friends’ prayers,
Hafez, when you depart
Via the wine-shop’s door,
Accompany your heart.
MY HEART WAS STOLEN BY A LOUT,
A gypsy-featured lad
Who broke his promises and was
Half cut-throat and half mad.
I’d rather see a ripped shirt worn
By someone blessed with beauty
Than see a thousand Sufi cloaks,
All abstinence and duty.
An angel has no notion what
Love is when it’s discussed,
No, call for rose water, my boy
To pour on Adam’s dust.
I love the words that kindle fire,
A verbal conflagration,
Not cold words used to douse the flames
Of friendly conversation.
I’ve come now to your court, worn out
By pain and indigence;
Have mercy on me, I’ve no hope
But your benevolence.
Don’t put your trust in all the tricks
And games that you’ve created;
It’s said there are a thousand ways
For kings to be checkmated.
“Come then,” a voice within the wine-shop
Last night admonished me,
“You’ve gained contentment, now accept
This stage as Fate’s decree.”
Attach a wine-cup to my shroud
So that on Judgment Day
The wine will help my quaking heart
Chase all her fears away.
Between the lover and the loved
There will be no divide,
But you yourself, Hafez, must draw
The veil of Self aside.
GOOD NEWS! THE DAYS OF GRIEF AND PAIN
won’t stay like this –
As others went, these won’t remain
or stay like this.
Though my belovèd thinks of me
as dirt and dust,
My rival’s status, and her trust,
won’t stay like this.
And though the doorman wields his sword
against us all,
No rank remains immutable
or stays like this.
When good or bad come, why give thanks,
and why complain?
Since what is written won’t remain
or stay like this.
They say when Jamshid reigned, “Bring wine”
was his court’s song,
“Since even Jamshid won’t live long,
or stay like this.”
And if you’re wealthy help the poor,
since, be assured,
The gold and silver that you hoard
won’t stay like this!
O candle, prize the moth’s love now
and hold it fast –
When dawn arrives it cannot last
or stay like this.
In words of gold they’ve written on
the emerald sky,
“Only compassion does not die
but stays like this.”
Do not despair of love, Hafez;
it can’t be true
The heartlessness she’s shown to you
will stay like this.
I’LL SAY IT OPENLY, AND BE
Happy to speak my mind –
“I am the slave of love, and I
Have left both worlds behind.”
I am a bird from paradise
And can’t account for how
I fell into this trap of troubles
Where I must languish now.
I was an angel, the highest court
Of heaven was home to me –
Adam it was who brought me to
This ruined monastery.
But heavenly shade, the water there,
The houris’ proffered love
Are all forgotten now, and it’s
Your street I’m dreaming of;
And on the tablets of my heart
My friend’s tall stature’s written;
What can I do? My master’s le
sson
Was this, and now I’m smitten.
No wise astrologer can tell
What star’s assigned to me;
O God, when earth, my mother, bore me,
What did the heavens decree?
A slave before love’s wine-shop door
Is where and how I live,
And every moment brings to me
The blessings sorrows give.
My eyes weep heart’s blood – this is right
Given what I have done;
Why did I hand my heart to one
Beloved by everyone?
Oh, use your hair to wipe the tears
From your Hafez’s face,
Or soon their flood will bear me off
And leave behind no trace.
AH, GOD FORBID THAT I RELINQUISH WINE
When roses are in season;
How could I do this when I’m someone who
Makes such a show of Reason?
Where’s a musician, so that I can give
The profit I once found
In self-control and knowledge for a flute’s songs,
And a lute’s sweet sound?
The endless arguments within the schools –
Whatever they might prove –
Sickened my heart; I’ll give a little time
To wine now, and to love.
Where is the shining messenger of dawn
That I might now complain
To my good fortune’s harbinger of this
Long night of lonely pain?
But when did time keep faith with anyone?
Bring wine, and I’ll recall
The tales of kings, of Jamshid and Kavus,
And how time took them all.
I’m not afraid of sins recorded in
My name – I’ll roll away
A hundred such accounts, by His benevolence
And grace, on Judgment Day.
This lent soul, that the Friend once gave into
Hafez’s care, I’ll place
Within His hands again, on that day when
I see Him face to face.
MILD BREEZE OF MORNING, GENTLY TELL
That errant, elegant gazelle
She’s made me wander far and wide
About the hills and countryside.
My sugar-lipped, sweet girl – oh, may
You live forever and a day! –
Where is your kindness? Come now, show it
To your sweet-talking parrot-poet.
My rose, does vanity restrain you?
Does beauty’s arrogance detain you
From seeking out this nightingale
Who wildly sings, to no avail?
With gentleness and kindness lies
The surest way to win the wise,