An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 263
Come, launch our ship upon the river of wine;
cast clamour and uproar in the soul of sheikh and youth.
Fling me into the vessel of wine, O cupbearer,
for it is said: 'Do a kindness, and cast it on the water.'
From the tavern-street I have turned back along the road of error;
in your grace, cast me once more upon the road of right.
Bring a bowl of that rose-hued, musk-breathing wine;
fling a spark of envy and spite into the rosewater's heart.
Though I am drunk and in ruins, you too grant one grace:
cast a glance upon this bewildered, ruined heart.
At midnight, should you have need of the sun's own light,
lift the veil from the rose-cheeked daughter of the vine.
When death comes, let them not commit me to the dust;
bear me to the tavern, and lay me at the wine-jar's door.
When your heart, like Hafez's, is worn to the soul by the sphere's tyranny,
hurl the meteor's shaft at the demon of afflictions.