An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 276
Would the gardener enjoy the rose's company five brief days,
he must bear the nightingale's patience under the thorn of parting.
O heart, in the bond of her tress, moan not of your distraction;
when the cunning bird falls to the snare, it must show endurance.
What has the world-consuming rend to do with weighing advantage?
That is the kingdom's business, which asks for counsel and thought.
To lean on piety and learning, on the Path, is infidelity;
though the wayfarer have a hundred arts, he must trust in God.
With such a tress and cheek as hers, let gazing be forbidden
to whoever must have the jasmine face and the hyacinth curl.
One must endure the airs of that drunken narcissus of hers;
this distracted heart must have that ringlet and that lock.
Cupbearer, how long this loitering in the goblet's round?
When the turn falls to the lovers, it must run on unbroken.
Who is Hafez, to refuse the wine that lacks the lute's own voice?
Why should the poor lover require such pomp and pageant?