Hafez · Ghazal 217 · Once I had a heart
مسلمانان مرا وقتی دلی بودکه با وی گفتمی گر مشکلی بود
به گردابی چو می‌افتادم از غمبه تدبیرش امید ساحلی بود
دلی همدرد و یاری مصلحت بینکه استظهار هر اهل دلی بود
ز من ضایع شد اندر کوی جانانچه دامنگیر یا رب منزلی بود
هنر بی‌عیب حرمان نیست لیکنز من محروم‌تر کی سائلی بود؟
بر این جان پریشان رحمت آریدکه وقتی کاردانی کاملی بود
مرا تا عشق تعلیم سخن کردحدیثم نکته هر محفلی بود
مگو دیگر که حافظ نکته‌دان استکه ما دیدیم و محکم جاهلی بود
You may feel that you have lost a steady inner counsellor, the calm part of you that once guided you through every difficulty and kept the shore in sight. Hafez knows this feeling: his heart was caught in love's lane and did not come back. Yet the ghazal is not despairing. It was love that taught him to speak, and his loss became his voice. Be kind to your scattered self, as you would be to a skilled friend going through a hard time. With a little humility and patience, your clear heart will find its way back to you.
O Muslims, once I had a heart
to which I would speak whenever a difficulty came.
When I fell into a whirlpool of grief,
its counsel gave me hope of a shore.
A heart that shared my pain, a friend who saw what was right,
the support of every person of heart.
I lost it in the beloved's lane;
O Lord, what a place that was, that catches at the hem!
Merit is never free of the flaw of being denied, but
when was there ever a beggar more denied than I?
Have mercy on this scattered soul,
for once it was skilled and accomplished.
Since love taught me how to speak,
my words have been the fine point of every gathering.
Do not say any more that Hafez knows subtle things,
for we have seen him, and he was a perfect fool.