An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 28
By the master's life, by the ancient right and the true covenant,
my one companion at daybreak is the prayer for your fortune.
My tears, which outdid the flood of Noah,
could not wash from the tablet of my breast the imprint of your love.
Strike a bargain and buy this broken heart,
for in its brokenness it is worth a hundred thousand whole.
The ant's tongue grew bold against Asaf — and rightly so,
for the lord lost the seal of Jamshid and sought it not again.
O heart, cut not off your hope of the Friend's boundless grace;
since you boasted of love, stake your head — nimble and quick.
Strive for truth, that a sun may be born of your breath;
for from falsehood the first dawn was blackened of face.
Through you I became a madman of mountain and plain, and still
you do not, in mercy, loosen the band of the chain.
Grieve not, Hafez, and seek no faith from the heart-ravishers;
what is the garden's fault, when this herb did not grow?