Khāwaja Shamsu Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (known by his pen name Hāfez (1325–1389), was an Iranian poet.
His collected works composed of series of Persian literature (Diwan) are to be found in the homes of most people in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, as well as elsewhere in the world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.
COVERS HER FACE WITH BOTH HANDS
Hafez
What
We speak
Becomes the house we live in.
Who will want to sleep in your bed
If the roof leaks
Right above it?
Look what happens when the tongue
Cannot say to kindness,
“I will be your slave.”
The moon
Covers her face with both hands
And can’t bear
To look.
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I AM REALLY JUST A TAMBOURINE
Hafez
Good
Poetry
Makes the universe admit a
Secret:
“I am
Really just a tambourine,
Grab hold,
Play me
Against your warm
Thigh”
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I KNOW THE WAY YOU CAN GET
Hafez
I know the way you can get
when you have not had a drink of love.
Your face hardens.
Your sweet muscles cramp.
Children become concerned
about a strange look that appears in your eyes
which even begins to worry your own mirror….
Squirrels and birds sense your sadness
and call an important conference in a tall tree.
They decide which secret code to chant
to help your mind and soul.
Oh, I know the way you can get if you
have not been drinking of love.
You might rip apart
every sentence your friends and teachers say,
looking for hidden clauses.
You might weigh every word on a scale
like a dead fish.
You might pull out a ruler to measure from
every angle in your darkness
the beautiful dimensions of a heart you once
trusted.
I know the way you can get
if you have not had a drink
from love’s hands.
That is why all the great ones speak
of the vital need
to keep remembering God,
so you will come to know and see him
as being so playful and just wanting–just wanting–to help.
That is why Hafiz says:
Bring your cup near me.
For all I care about is
quenching your thirst for freedom!
All a sane man or woman can ever care about
is giving love!
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THE SCENT OF LIGHT
Hafez
Like a great starving beast
My body is quivering
Fixed
On the scent
of
Light.
============
THIS UNION
Hafez
This
Union you want
With the earth and sky,
This union we all need with love,
A golden wing from God’s heart just
Touched the ground,
Now
Step upon it
With your brave sun-vows
And help our eyes
To
Dance!