Ghazal 310

Welcome, O auspicious bird of auspicious message —

blessed arrival! What news? Where is the friend? Which road?

O Lord, may eternal grace be the escort of this caravan —

for by it the enemy came into the trap and the beloved came to desire.

The tale of me and my beloved has no end —

whatever has no beginning cannot accept an ending.

The rose has gone beyond bounds in luxury — show your face for a moment;

the cypress is boasting, and it is not pleasant — for God's sake, walk.

The beloved's tresses command like a sacred girdle —

go, O sheikh, for the cloak upon our body has become forbidden.

The bird of my spirit that used to whistle from the top of the Lote-tree —

at last the grain of your mole has cast it into the trap.

Sleep is not fitting for my sick eye —

how can one whose killing disease has made him wasted, sleep?

You will not have mercy on me, the sincere one — I said it:

that is the claim — and here you are, and those are the days.

If Hafez has an inclination toward your brow, it is fitting —

the people of prayer make their place in the corner of the prayer-niche.