Allspirit Poetry

Selections from the spiritual poetry of Hafiz

Fair Wind, Be Kind

Fair wind, be kind - 
Tell that lovely gazelle who it was 
That made me wander distraught 
Across desert sands and mountain cliffs.

The seller of sweets, 
May she have long life - 
Why is she not generous 
To this parrot longing for honey? 

Oh flower, 
Is it your proud nature 
That keeps you aloof 
From the bird dancing around you? 

It is the beauty of one's nature 
That nets the seekers. 
Ropes and cages never trap 
The wary bird. 

How is it that those tall beauties, 
With black eyes shining 
From faces of moonlike radiance -
Pass me by? 

How can your face show such beauty, 
While here in Earth 
You are the image 
Of inconstancy and faithlessness? 

Hafiz - 
Your sayings draw melodies 
From the stars 
And set even the son of Mary to dance.

While you keep the company of the enlightened 
And quaff the mystic wine, 
Forget not those, who sail upon the heavens 
As birds glide upon the wind. 

From:The Diwan of Hafiz Shirazi, Selected and Translated from the Farsi by
Parham Noori-Esfandiari and Alan Dean Ild, Edited by Michael R. Brown


Index of Hafiz Poems