An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 245
Ah, O parrot, speaker of mysteries,
may your beak never be empty of sugar.
May your head be green and your heart glad forever,
for you traced a lovely image of the Friend's new down.
You spoke veiled words among your comrades;
for God's sake, lift the veil from this riddle.
Throw rosewater on my face from the goblet,
for we are heavy with sleep, O wakeful fortune.
What was that mode the minstrel struck behind the veil,
that drunk and sober fell to dancing together?
From that opium the cupbearer cast into the wine,
the comrades were left with neither head nor turban.
To Alexander they grant not a single draught of the water of life;
by force and by gold this thing is not to be won.
Come and hear the state of the people of pain,
in words that are few and meaning that is vast.
The Cathayan idol is the foe of faith and hearts;
O Lord, keep safe my heart and my faith.
Tell not the secrets of drunkenness to the sober;
tell not the tale of the soul to the painting on the wall.
By the blessing of the fortune of Mansur the king,
Hafez became a standard in the crafting of verse.
He wrought lordship in the place of servants;
O Lord, keep him safe from all calamities.