Faces of Love: Hafez and the Poets of Shiraz

by Dick Davis

  Tell him, “I’m half insane without you,

  You’ll cure these pains I cannot bear.”

  Don’t say to him, “How long, my love,

  Will you condemn me to despair?”

  YOUR FACE USURPS THE FIERY GLOW AND HUE

  of roses;

  And with your face here, what have I to do

  with roses?

  Your ringlets’ fragrance is so sweet, my friend,

  No fragrant rose-scent could entice me to

  seek roses –

  Besides, the faithless roses’ scent will fade,

  Which is a serious drawback, in my view,

  of roses;

  And if the waters of eternal life

  Had touched their roots, so that they bloomed anew,

  these roses,

  When could they ever form a bud as sweet

  As your small mouth, which is more trim and true

  than roses?

  FROM NOW ON I HAVE SWORN

  I won’t let dreams deceive me,

  Since pointless dreams have made

  My spirit almost leave me;

  My poor heart dreamed of you

  So earnestly it seems,

  Your image turned my flesh

  Into the stuff of dreams.

  I gave my head, heart, soul,

  And faith to you – so who

  Informed you killing me’s

  A legal thing to do?

  Have mercy on me now,

  Pity my wretchedness,

  I’ve reached the limits of

  Exhaustion and distress.

  Now by his doe-like eyes,

  The full moon of his face,

  His eyebrow’s arch that’s like

  The new moon in its grace,

  By his bright cheeks, the rose

  And jasmine mingled there,

  By his moist lips, and by

  The sweet scent of his hair,

  By my parched, thirsty lips,

  By meeting him at night,

  By his proud stride, and by

  His sapling-slender height,

  I swear that in this night

  Of his long absence, my

  Poor face is pallid as

  The pale moon in the sky;

  I swear that I despair

  Of heart and soul, and of

  Both this world and the next,

  Without him, and his love.

  “You’re like the nightingale,”

  He said, “whose lovesick woe

  Harangues the rose! Poor wretch,

  Stop whining now, and go!”

  HOW SWEET SLEEP IS! I DREAMED I SAW

  My friend last night,

  And pampered my poor heart with thoughts

  Of past delight;

  And in this dream he was so kind

  And sweet to me,

  I entertain high hopes that this

  Is how he’ll be…

  I saw your lovely face, and what

  Could be more clear

  In meaning than that I should see

  Your face appear?

  Be chivalrous and kind to me –

  Have pity on

  One who has suffered agonies

  Since you have gone:

  I’m like a cypress who has bowed

  Her stately grace

  Down to the earth in searching for

  Your flower-like face;

  I long so much to see you here,

  Each night I tear

  A hundred nightshirts into shreds

  In my despair.

  You are the ka’abah that I seek:

  My love, allow

  Me to approach the face I’ve sought

  For so long now.

  I’m like a bird that is half slaughtered,

  Struggling to rise,

  Whose wings are dabbled with her heart’s

  Blood as she dies.

  I know too well the warmth and cold

  That Fortune’s shown;

  I’m not a child to whom the world

  Is still unknown.

  COME HERE A MOMENT, SIT WITH ME, DON’T SLEEP TONIGHT,

  Consider well my heart’s unhappy plight, tonight;

  And let your face’s presence lighten me, and give

  The loveliness of moonlight to the night, tonight.

  Be kind now to this stranger, and don’t imitate

  Life as it leaves me in its headlong flight, tonight.

  Be sweet to me now as your eyes are sweet; don’t twist

  Away now like your curls, to left and right, tonight;

  Don’t sweep me from you like the dust before your door;

  Dowse all the flames of longing you ignite, tonight.

  Why do you treat me with such cruelty now, my friend,

  So that my tears obliterate my sight, tonight?

  If, for a moment, I could see you in my dreams,

  I’d know the sum of all this world’s delight, tonight.

  HOW CAN I TELL YOU WHAT I WANT FROM YOU

  When you’ll be angry with me if I do?

  Your slave is guilty; would it hurt to show

  Her kindness, though? Noblesse oblige, you know.

  My heart and soul are yours now; in which case,

  Tell me, why slam your door shut in my face?

  Don’t hurt my heart like this…because I bet

  If this were done to you, you’d be upset!

  My heart, the man’s a cad; so how’s his hair

  Managed to tangle you within its snare?

  How you hung on to love! And now the fire

  Of his long absence burns me with desire.

  Men love the world, she’s dear to everyone –

  So why’s the world’s love something that you shun?

  AT DAWN MY HEART SAID I SHOULD GO

  Into the garden where

  I’d pick fresh flowers, and hope to see

  His flower-like beauty there.

  I took his hand in mine, and oh

  How happily we strayed

  Among the tulip beds, and through

  Each pretty grassy glade;

  How sweet the tightness of his curls

  Seemed then, and it was bliss

  To grasp his fingers just as tight,

  And snatch a stealthy kiss.

  For me to be alone beside

  That slender cypress tree

  Cancels the thousand injuries

  That he has given me.

  He’s a narcissus, tall and straight!

  And so how sweet to bow

  My head like violets at his feet

  And kiss the earth there now.

  But your drunk eyes don’t deign to see me,

  Although I really think

  It’s easy to forgive someone

  The worse for love or drink.

  And though it’s good to weep beneath

  God’s cloud of clement rain,

  It’s also good to laugh like flowers

  When sunlight shines again.

  My heart was hurt by his “Checkmate”;

  I think I must prepare

  To seek out wider pastures then,

  And wander off elsewhere.

  Jahan, be careful not to say

  Too much; it’s pitiful

  To give a jewel to someone who

  Can’t see it’s valuable.

  SUPPOSE A BREEZE SHOULD BRING TO ME

  My lover’s scent –

  I’d sacrifice my heart and soul

  And be content;

  My nostrils would inhale his scent

  And be at rest

  Since by the breezes of the spring

  The world is blessed.

  And spring is here, the New Year’s here,

  And brings to me

  A fragrance that’s like pungent musk

  From Tartary;

  What camphor, musk, and ambergris

  Are mingled there

  So that the scent resembles now

 
; My lover’s hair.

  If he should wander through these gardens,

  Shame would make

  Each rose shed all its petals for

  His beauty’s sake;

  And shameful of their stature, elms

  Would watch him pass,

  And Oriental planes bow down

  And touch the grass;

  And violets would be ashamed

  To see his hair –

  They’d wilt away beneath his steps

  In their despair;

  Narcissi, with their drunken eyes,

  Before his feet

  Would bow their heads and, as they bowed,

  Admit defeat.

  The blossoms of the Judas tree

  Would blush for shame,

  Sweet-smelling lilies would heap praise

  Upon his name;

  And jessamine that loves to boast

  Of its fair face

  Would die upon his roses’ thorns

  And cede its place;

  The splendid tulips would turn pale,

  And everywhere

  No rose or jasmine would be looked at

  While he was there.

  And in each place, throughout the garden,

  A thousand cries

  Like drunken shouts, in praise of him,

  Would then arise.

  Now, in this season of spring flowers,

  I long to be

  Surrounded by them, with my lover

  Seated with me,

  With blossoms drifting down on us,

  As though the sweet

  Flowers falling were a silver tribute

  Cast at his feet.

  The world is filled with happiness;

  But no relief

  Is mine, since in these days I know

  Nothing but grief.

  O GOD, BE KIND, AND OPEN WIDE YOUR DOOR,

  I don’t want others’ kindness any more;

  And if I’ve strayed from the right path, I know

  That You will guide me where I have to go

  (If He considers me at all, then I

  Will gladly give my soul for Him, and die);

  All powerful God, who needs no human prayer,

  Open Your door to me, receive me there.

  In one night, sovereignty abandoned me –

  Your kindness now is all my sovereignty.

  And who dare praise You or extol You? Who,

  For all his eloquence, can speak of You?

  If You’re my friend, then what is it to me

  If all my country’s now my enemy?

  MY FRIEND, WHO WAS SO KIND AND FAITHFUL ONCE,

  Has changed his mind now, and I don’t know why;

  I think it must be in my wretched stars –

  He feels no pity for me when I cry.

  Oh, I complain of your cruel absence, but

  Your coming here’s like dawn’s breeze in the sky;

  That oath you swore to and then broke – thank God

  It’s you who swore, and is foresworn, not I!

  I didn’t snatch one jot of joy before

  You snatched your clothes from me and said goodbye;

  I didn’t thank you, since I wasn’t sure

  You’d really been with me, or just passed by.

  How envious our clothes were when we lay

  Without them, clasped together, you and I!

  Your curls have chained my heart up; this is right –

  Madmen are chained up, as they rage and sigh.

  They say the world’s lord cherishes his slaves;

  So why’s he harsh to me? I don’t know why.

  HAVE ALL YOUR FEELINGS FOR ME GONE?

  Tell me, how long must this go on?

  Who snatched my heart from me but you?

  Dearest, is this what lovers do?

  My love, you loved me once, and how

  Am I to bear this anguish now?

  You stole my heart, and now your prey’s

  My soul…these are not friendship’s ways!

  As lion-hunting kings pursue

  Their prey across the plain, so you

  Have killed my heart – that is now tied

  As spoils hung from your saddle’s side.

  My weeping was the rain whose power

  Nourished this world-destroying flower

  That gives me only thorns; O you,

  My heart, what can, what will, you do?

  IT WILL BE GOD WHO OPENS UP,

  At last, these bonds that hamper me,

  Who in His mercy opens wide,

  For me, the door of Victory.

  Don’t grieve, my heart; His kindness will

  Undo the knots entangling me.

  It’s useless to petition people –

  It’s God who grants us sovereignty;

  My pain has passed all limits, but

  His mercy is its remedy.

  Open that door of Victory,

  Dear God! Who else will succor me?

  But in the night of loneliness,

  Until its long anxiety

  Resolves at last, the wretched heart

  Must learn to suffer patiently.

  O world, the heavens have chained your feet,

  Your shackles are their tyranny –

  Pray now that, by prayer’s influence,

  They’ll open up, and you’ll be free.

  HOW SWEET THOSE DAYS WHEN WE WERE STILL

  together; when we cared

  For one another, and our grief

  and happiness were shared!

  We used no waspish tongues to wound

  each other’s hearts; we swore

  That we’d be one another’s shields,

  faithful for evermore!

  And would, thanks be to God, be famed

  for how much we’d dispense

  In charity, and for our buildings’

  bold magnificence.

  For years we took our pleasure, laughed

  aloud – it was as though

  We were spring flowers, and happiness

  was all that we could know;

  And we were kind, considerate,

  politely intimate –

  As gentle as the morning breeze

  with every soul we met.

  We spread our light throughout the world

  as if we were the sun,

  And like the sun itself we dried

  dew’s tears for everyone.

  HOW WOULD IT BE, MY SOUL’S LOVE, IF YOU HEALED

  My heart for me,

  And pitied my poor state, and didn’t stay

  Apart from me?

  Your ruby lips are fire, your face is like

  The shining moon;

  It would be right for you to visit me,

  My dear, and soon.

  You swore a thousand times you’d come, which you

  Have not yet done –

  Of all the promises you’ve made, why don’t

  You keep just one?

  I have endured a wretched lifetime of

  Your tyranny;

  Tell me, my dear, how long will you go on

  Tormenting me?

  How often will you swear to me, “I’ll come”

  And then desert me?

  Your leaving me’s a brand – how long do you

  Intend to hurt me?

  Why do you injure all your friends like this

  Continually?

  And make me into what my enemies

  Would wish for me?

  My heart, how long will all this longing last?

  Calm down, and rest;

  You’ll certainly upset the world if you

  Don’t stop this quest!

  IN ALL THE WORLD, MY LOVE,

  I’ve no one else but you;

  And loving your dear face

  I’ve nothing else to do.

  You might have other loves

  In place of me, but I,

  I swear by your sweet soul,

  Have no one
else but you.

  Dogs haunt the alley where

  You live, so why, my friend,

  Am I forbidden now

  To haunt your alley too?

  You are my lord, and I’m

  Your slave – command me then;

  I promise you I won’t

  Be angry if you do;

  And if I’ve been upset

  And hurt in former days,

  I’m never now upset,

  My only love, with you.

  I swear, from all the earth,

  And from its loves, I want

  Your kindness – nothing else;

  My only lord is you.

  WHY IS IT YOU NEGLECT ME SO? WHY IS IT

  You never pay your captive wretch a visit?

  Your rank’s raised your pavilion up to heaven,

  Our government’s the playground you’ve been given;

  Iran’s wealth’s lifted you aloft – it’s right

  Her crown and throne afford you such delight.

  Thank God for pleasure, for such luxuries

  Snatched at in ever greater quantities!

  The world’s deceived you for five days, and you’re

  So proud? It’s done this countless times before.

  Mohammad Ghazi, in your reign I’m free

  Of hearth and home, and all that’s dear to me;

  But you’ll be humbled by the world’s attacks,

  In sorrow’s flames you’ll writhe like melting wax.

  MOST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WANT POWER AND MONEY,

  And just these two; that’s all they’re looking for.

  They’re faithless, callous, and unkind – the times

  Are filled with squabbles, insurrections, war,

  And everyone puts caution first, since now

  Few friends exist of whom one can be sure.

  Men flee from one another like scared deer,

  And for a bit of bread the rabble roar

  As though they’d tear each other’s guts apart.

  And why are men determined to ignore

  The turning of the heavens, which must mean

  The world will change, as it has done before?

  But in their souls they are Your slaves, and search

  The meadows for the cypress they adore;

  My heart’s an untamed doe, who haunts Your hills,

  And whom no noose has ever snared before.

  HIS GLANCES TRAP MY HEART WITHIN THEIR SNARE,

  And straightaway his glances stray elsewhere;

  He is the brightness of my eyes, so why