Ghazal 168

The soul melted, hoping the heart's work would be complete — and it was not.

We burned in this raw desire — and it was not.

With pleas she said one night: I will be the queen of your gathering —

I went, willingly her least slave — and it was not.

She sent word: I wish to sit with the rends —

we went into revelry and became known as dregs-drinkers — and it was not.

It is fitting if the dove of my heart flutters in my breast,

for it saw the twists and curves of the snare on its path — and it was not.

With that desire to kiss that ruby lip in drunkenness —

what blood fell into my heart, like a cup — and it was not.

Do not set foot on the path of love without a guide —

I tried a hundred efforts on my own — and it was not.

Alas! In seeking the treasure-letter of my desire,

I became the ruin of a whole world of grief — and it was not.

Pity and pain! In search of the treasure of presence,

I went begging so many times to the generous — and it was not.

A thousand tricks Hafez devised from his mind,

in that desire that the beauty would become tame — and it was not.