Hafez · Love Seemed Easy at First
الا یا ایها الساقی ادر کأسا و ناولهاکه عشق آسان نمود اول ولی افتاد مشکل‌ها
به بوی نافه ای کاخر صبا زان طره بگشایدز تاب جعد مشکینش چه خون افتاد در دل‌ها
مرا در منزل جانان چه امن عیش چون هر دمجرس فریاد می دارد که بربندید محمل‌ها
به می سجاده رنگین کن گرت پیر مغان گویدکه سالک بی خبر نبود ز راه و رسم منزل‌ها
شب تاریک و بیم موج و گردابی چنین هایلکجا دانند حال ما سبکباران ساحل‌ها
همه کارم ز خود کامی به بدنامی کشید آخرنهان کی ماند آن رازی کز او سازند محفل‌ها
حضوری گر همی خواهی از او غایب مشو حافظمتی ما تلق من تهوی دع الدنیا و اهملها
You have set out on something that began easily and has since grown difficult, and you may feel that those standing safely on the shore cannot understand the dark water you are crossing. Hafez does not deny the waves; he asks you to trust a guide who knows the stages of the road, even when the advice seems strange. The bell is ringing for departure: hold lightly to what you cannot keep. Stay present to what you truly love, and the troubles will reveal their purpose in time.
Ah, O saqi, pass the cup around and hand it to me,
for love seemed easy at first, but then came the troubles.
In hope of the musk-pod scent the east wind at last will loosen from that forelock,
from the twist of those dark musky curls, what blood has fallen into hearts!
What safety of pleasure have I in the beloved's lodging, when every moment
the caravan bell cries out: "Bind fast the litters!"
Stain your prayer-mat with wine if the Pir of the Magians tells you to,
for the wayfarer is not unaware of the road and the customs of its stages.
A dark night, the dread of the waves, and a whirlpool so terrible:
how could the lightly laden on the shore know our state?
My every deed, from following my own desire, ended at last in ill repute;
how could that secret stay hidden of which they make their gatherings?
If you want presence, Hafez, do not be absent from Him:
when you meet the one you long for, leave the world and let it go.