Hafez · Ghazal 201 · Pure wine and a sweet saqi
شراب بی‌غش و ساقی خوش دو دام رهندکه زیرکان جهان از کمندشان نرهند
من ار چه عاشقم و رند و مست و نامه سیاههزار شکر که یاران شهر بی‌گنهند
جفا نه پیشه درویشیست و راهرویبیار باده که این سالکان نه مرد رهند
مبین حقیر، گدایان عشق را کاین قومشهان بی کمر و خسروان بی کلهند
به هوش باش که هنگام باد استغناهزار خرمن طاعت به نیم جو ننهند
مکن که کوکبه دلبری شکسته شودچو بندگان بگریزند و چاکران بجهند
غلام همت دردی کشان یک رنگمنه آن گروه که ازرق لباس و دل سیهند
قدم منه به خرابات جز به شرط ادبکه سالکان درش محرمان پادشهند
جناب عشق بلند است همتی حافظکه عاشقان، ره بی‌همتان به خود ندهند
Hafez honours the humble here: do not look down on the beggars of love, for they are kings without crowns. Whatever you are facing, he asks you to meet it with courtesy and an undivided heart, all of one colour inside and out, rather than outward piety covering harshness. Do not rely on your own good works as if they earned everything; grace weighs things differently. Yet do not shrink either. The court of love is high, so let your aspiration be high too, and walk towards it with respect.
Pure wine and a sweet saqi are two snares upon the road
from whose lasso the clever of the world cannot escape.
Though I am a lover, a rend, drunk, with a blackened record,
a thousand thanks that the friends of this city are without sin!
Cruelty is not the trade of the dervish and the wayfarer;
bring wine, for these so-called travellers are no men of the road.
Do not look down on the beggars of love, for these people
are kings without a belt and Khosrows without a crown.
Be mindful, for in the hour when the wind of His self-sufficiency blows,
a thousand harvests of obedience are not worth half a grain of barley.
Do not act so that the procession of the heart-winner is broken,
when the servants flee and the attendants run away.
I serve the aspiration of the drinkers of dregs who are all of one colour,
not that crowd in blue robes with black hearts.
Do not set foot in the tavern except with courtesy,
for the wayfarers at its door are the intimates of the king.
The court of love is high; find some aspiration, Hafez,
for lovers will not let the faint-hearted into their company.