An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 17
My breast burned from the heart's fire in grief for the beloved;
such a fire was in this house that it razed the whole dwelling.
My body melted from the parting of the heart-ravisher;
my soul burned in the fire of love for the beloved's face.
See the heart's burning: from the sheer blaze of my tears, the candle's heart
last night, out of pure love, burned for me like a moth.
No wonder a friend is grieved for me;
when I went out of myself, even a stranger's heart burned.
The tavern's water swept off my cloak of abstinence;
the wine-house fire burned down the house of my reason.
Like a cup, my heart broke from the repentance I had made;
like a tulip, my liver burned without wine and wine-vault.
Cut short the quarrel and return, for the pupil of my eye
drew off its cloak and, in thanksgiving, burned it.
Leave off the tale, Hafez, and drink a moment of wine;
we did not sleep the night, and the candle burned away in storytelling.