Hafiz of Shiraz by Peter Avery

Author:Peter Avery [Avery, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Other Press
Published: 2020-10-13T00:00:00+00:00

VIII

(The beauty that he seeks seems ruthless and cruel, like the blond Turkish nomads. Utterly self-sufficient, it yet draws men to throw off all restraint, as did Potiphar’s wife for the love of Joseph. But the mystery of the Universe cannot be solved with the intellect.)

If that Tartar, that fair-skinned Turk of Shiraz, gets hold of my heart

I’ll give Bokhara and Samarkand for the Indian-black mole on his cheek.

Boy, hand me the wine that is left; for in Paradise

You won’t find the waters of Ruknabad, or Musalla’s rose-planted meadow.

Oh, but these handsome vagabonds, the town’s marauders,

Snatch patience out of the heart as the Turks grab plunder on pay-day.

Such beauty has no need of our clumsy love:

No more than a lovely face needs pencil or makeup.

But let’s talk of music and wine; leave probing the Universe:

That is a riddle which reason will never untie.

I know now how Joseph’s beauty grew from day to day,

And her longing drove Zuleika into the open.

Though you give me harsh words, bad names, God’s blessings upon you:

A bitter answer comes sweet on a sweet lip.

O my soul, receive this advice; to a lucky learner

More than his own soul is the Master’s council.

You have made a poem, Hafiz, and threaded pearls; recite it deftly:

And on your verse Heaven scatter the knot of the Pleiades.

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