Ghazal 208

From the Divan of Hafez · 7 couplets

The Oracle Speaks

...

When the weary have desire but no strength,

if you deal unjustly, it is not the way of courtesy.

We saw no cruelty from you — and you yourself would not approve

what is not in the creed of the people of the path.

Dull is the eye whose water is not carried off by love's weeping —

dark is the heart in which the candle of love does not burn.

Seek fortune from the Homa bird and its shadow,

for the wing of fortune does not belong to the crow and jackdaw.

If I sought help from the Old Magian, do not blame me —

our sheikh said there was no aspiration in the cloister.

When there is no purity, the Ka'ba and the idol-house are one —

there is no good in a house where there is no virtue.

Hafez, cultivate learning and courtesy, for in the king's assembly

whoever lacks courtesy is not fit for company.

خستگان را چو طلب باشد و قُوَّت نَبُوَد

گر تو بیداد کنی شرطِ مُروَّت نَبُوَد

ما جفا از تو ندیدیم و تو خود نَپْسَندی

آنچه در مذهبِ اربابِ طریقت نبود

خیره آن دیده که آبش نَبَرَد گریهٔ عشق

تیره آن دل که در او شمعِ محبت نبود

دولت از مرغِ همایون طلب و سایهٔ او

زان که با زاغ و زَغَن شَهپَرِ دولت نبود

گر مدد خواستم از پیرِ مُغان عیب مکن

شیخ ما گفت که در صومعه همّت نبود

چون طهارت نَبُوَد کعبه و بتخانه یکیست

نَبُوَد خیر در آن خانه که عصمت نبود

حافظا علم و ادب ورز که در مجلسِ شاه

هر که را نیست ادب لایقِ صحبت نبود

Source: Ganjoor.net

Reflect on This Poem

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  • Which line stirred something in you — comfort, longing, or unease?
  • What question were you holding when you arrived at this page?
  • What is this poem asking you to release or embrace?

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