An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 327
I hold a covenant with my Beloved: while soul stays in this body,
I cherish the dwellers of her lane as I would cherish my own soul.
The pure calm of my solitude I seek from that Chigil-bright taper;
the light of eye, the glow of heart, from that fair Khotan-born moon.
Since I have won a private hour to my heart's wish and desire,
what care have I for the slanders of the spiteful in the crowd?
Within my house there stands a cypress; and in the shade of her stature
I am set free from the garden's cypress and the meadow's tall box-tree.
Though a hundred armies of the fair lay ambush for my heart,
praise be to God, His grace, I keep an idol who scatters armies.
Well may I boast a Solomon's power from the ruby of her signet-ring,
for while the Greatest Name is mine, what dread have I of demons?
O sagacious Elder, do not blame me for the tavern,
for in forsaking cup and pledge I keep a heart that breaks all pledges.
For God's sake, O rival, tonight close up your eyes an hour,
for with her silent ruby lip I keep a hundred secret words.
Since I stroll proudly through the rose-plot of her fortune, God be praised,
I long not for the tulip or wild rose, nor crave the eglantine's leaf.
For roguery Hafez grew renowned among his boon-companions, yet
what grief have I, while in this world I hold Qavam al-Din Hasan?