Hafez · Ghazal 163 · The rose without the beloved's face
گل بی‌رخ یار خوش نباشدبی‌باده بهار خوش نباشد
طرف چمن و طواف بستانبی‌لاله‌عذار خوش نباشد
رقصیدن سرو و حالت گلبی‌صوت هزار خوش نباشد
با یار شکرلب گل‌اندامبی‌بوس و کنار خوش نباشد
هر نقش که دست عقل بنددجز نقش نگار، خوش نباشد
جان نقد محقر است حافظاز بهر نثار خوش نباشد
This short ghazal says one thing many ways: beauty is only complete when it is shared with the one you love. The garden, the spring, the dancing cypress all lose their sweetness when the heart's companion is missing. Perhaps you have been chasing pleasant things while the deeper wish stays unspoken. Hafez invites you to name what, or who, would make it whole, and to offer more than a small token. Give your heart fully to what matters, and the ordinary rose will be sweet again.
The rose is not sweet without the beloved's face;
spring is not sweet without wine.
The edge of the meadow and the round of the garden
are not sweet without the tulip-cheeked one.
The dancing of the cypress and the rapture of the rose
are not sweet without the nightingale's song.
With a sugar-lipped, rose-bodied beloved,
it is not sweet without the kiss and the embrace.
Every picture the hand of reason draws
is not sweet, except the picture of the beloved.
The soul is a paltry coin, Hafez;
it is not fit to be scattered as an offering.