Un presagio da Hafez
Ghazal 381
Though we are but the bondsmen of the king,
we are the kings of the kingdom of the dawn.
Treasure in the sleeve, and yet the purse is empty;
we are the world-revealing cup, and the road's own dust.
Sober before His presence, drunk with pride;
we are the sea of Oneness, and drowned in sin.
When the fair witness of fortune plays her coquetry,
we are the mirror of her cheek, that shines like the moon.
Of the waking-fortuned king, through every night
we are the wakeful guardians of the crown and cap.
Say: count it as a prize, this company of ours,
for you lie deep in sleep, and we keep watch and ward.
King Mansur is well aware that we, whenever
we lay the face of our resolve upon a place —
The foes we clothe within a winding-sheet of blood;
the friends we vest in the tunic of victory.
The hue of dissembling was never ours to wear;
we are the crimson lion and the coal-black asp.
Say, let them now repay the debt of Hafez;
you have confessed it, and we stand as the witnesses.