Ghazals of Hafiz

Translated from Persian by Sadeqa Ghazal


1

The sea of love is a sea with no shores
there is no way out except offering life,
That moment is the best when heart is pledged for love
as omens are not needed for good deeds,
Do not frighten us talking about sense
that mercenary is of no use in our land,
Ask your own eyes who is killing us, my love
neither the sin of fate nor the crime of stars,
 Rejoice for the vagabonds’ ways as its signs
like a treasure quest, are not revealed to all,
How you stay unmoved by the wailings of Hafiz
I wonder at the heart which is no less than flint.


2

When you listen to ‘folk of the heart’, don’t call them wrong,
You don’t get the talk my love, that’s where the mistake lies;
Don’t know what it is in my shabby heart,
I’m mute and it’s wailing and crying;
My heart is exposed, where is the musician?
Play on! For it covers my affairs pretty well;
I’d not have bothered with the affairs of this world,
Only your face has rendered it attractive for me;
What was the melody that the lovers played?
Seasons have passed, yet its tunes fill the mind;
Last night, within me, I heard the call of your love,
The heart of Hafiz is still echoing with its sound.