An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 53
I am he whose cloister is the corner of the tavern;
the prayer of the Magian Elder is my morning litany.
If I have no morning harp-song at dawn, what dread?
my melody at daybreak is the sigh that pleads my pardon.
Thank God, I am free of both the king and the beggar;
the beggar at the Friend's door is my only king.
My aim from mosque and tavern alike is union with you;
I hold no other thought — God is my witness.
Unless with the sword of death I strike my tent, else
to flee from the door of fortune is not my way or wont.
From the hour I laid my face upon this threshold,
the summit of the sun's throne has been my resting-place.
Though sin was never our own choosing, Hafez,
keep to the road of good manners — say: the sin is mine.