An omen from Hafez
Ghazal 86
Cupbearer, come — the Friend has lifted the veil from her face;
the work of the recluses' lamp has caught its flame anew.
That candle, guttered out, has kindled its bright face once more;
and this grey-headed elder has taken up his youth afresh.
Love flung out such a glance that the mufti strayed from the road;
and the Friend showed such grace that the very foe took to his guard.
Beware of that sweet phrase, so ravishing to the heart —
you'd say your pistachio lips had caught up speech in sugar.
A burden of grief that had worn our spirit thin and sore —
God sent a Jesus-breathed one, who lifted it clean away.
Each cypress-form that flaunted its beauty over moon and sun,
the moment you entered in, turned aside to another task.
The seven vaults of heaven still ring with this story's echo;
behold the short of sight, who took the tale for a trifle.
O Hafez, from whom did you learn this speech, that fortune should make
an amulet of your verse and set it round with gold?