Ghazal 303

I caught the scent of affection and glimpsed the lightning of union —

come, for I am dying for your fragrance, O breeze of the north.

O driver, by the beauty of the beloved — stop and dismount! —

for I have no patient endurance from longing for that beauty.

The tale of the night of separation — better left aside —

in gratitude that the day of union has cast its veil.

Come, for the rose-strewn curtain of the seven chambers of the eye

we have drawn with the pen of the workshop of imagination.

Since the beloved is inclined to peace and seeks pardon,

one can overlook the rival's cruelty in any case.

Nothing is in my narrow heart except the image of your mouth —

may no one be like me, pursuing an impossible fancy.

Hafez, the stranger, was slain by your love — but

pass by our dust, for your blood-price is lawful for you.