Ghazal 477

Two clever friends, and two cups of aged wine —

a leisure, and a book, and the corner of a garden.

I would not trade this station for this world or the next —

though every moment a whole assembly falls behind me.

Whoever traded the corner of contentment for the world's treasure

sold the Joseph of Egypt for the lowest price.

Come — for the activity of this workshop will not diminish

by the piety of one like you, or by the sin of one like me.

From the fierce wind of events, one cannot see

in this garden whether there was ever a rose or a jasmine.

See in the mirror of the cup the design-work of the unseen —

for no one remembers so wondrous a time.

From this scorching wind that passed over the garden,

it is a wonder that there remains the scent of a rose or the color of a briar.

Strive in patience, O heart — for God does not abandon

so precious a jewel-stone to the hand of a demon.

The temperament of the age has gone bad in this calamity, Hafez —

where is the thought of a sage and the judgment of a Brahmin?