An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 479
It is dawn, and the dew drips from the cloud of Bahman;
make ready the morning draught, and pour a full measure's cup.
I have fallen in the sea of we-ness and I-ness — bring
wine, that it may grant me deliverance from we and I.
Drink the blood of the cup, for its blood is lawful;
be about the Friend's work, for it is a task worth doing.
Cupbearer, be at hand, for grief lies in ambush for us;
minstrel, hold to this same tune that you play.
Give wine, for the harp leaned its head to my ear and said:
“Pass your hours in sweetness, and hear this bent old sage.”
Cupbearer, by the rogues' own self-sufficiency, give wine,
that from the singer's voice you may hear: “He is the All-Sufficient.”