Hafez · Ghazal 286 · Take things easy
دوش با من گفت پنهان کاردانی تیزهوشوز شما پنهان نشاید کرد سر می‌فروش
گفت آسان گیر بر خود کارها کز روی طبعسخت می‌گردد جهان بر مردمان سخت‌کوش
وان گهم در داد جامی کز فروغش بر فلکزهره در رقص آمد و بربط زنان می‌گفت نوش
با دل خونین لب خندان بیاور همچو جامنی گرت زخمی رسد، آیی چو چنگ اندر خروش
تا نگردی آشنا زین پرده رمزی نشنویگوش نامحرم نباشد جای پیغام سروش
گوش کن پند ای پسر وز بهر دنیا غم مخورگفتمت چون در حدیثی، گر توانی داشت هوش
در حریم عشق نتوان زد دم از گفت و شنیدزان که آنجا جمله اعضا چشم باید بود و گوش
بر بساط نکته‌دانان خودفروشی شرط نیستیا سخن دانسته گو ای مرد عاقل، یا خموش
ساقیا می ده که رندی‌های حافظ فهم کردآصف صاحب‌قران جرم‌بخش عیب‌پوش
A wise friend whispers the counsel of this ghazal: take things easy on yourself, for the world grows hard for those who push too hard. You may have been straining at something that will open more readily if you loosen your grip. Even with a bleeding heart, Hafez says, keep a smiling lip, like the cup. Listen more than you speak; in love's sanctuary the whole self should become eyes and ears. Do not grieve too much over worldly things. Speak from what you truly know, or rest in silence.
Last night a sharp-witted, capable one told me in secret,
and the wine-seller's secret should not be hidden from you:
He said: "Take things easy on yourself, for by its very nature
the world grows hard for those who strive too hard."
And then he handed me a cup from whose radiance in the sky
Venus began to dance, and, playing her lute, said: "Drink!"
With a bleeding heart, bring a laughing lip, like the cup;
do not cry out like the harp whenever a wound strikes you.
Until you are familiar with this veil, you will hear no secret;
the stranger's ear is no place for the angel's message.
Listen to advice, my son, and do not grieve over the world;
I have told you a saying like a pearl, if you can keep it in mind.
In the sanctuary of love one cannot boast of talk and hearsay,
for there every limb must become eyes and ears.
Among those who know subtle things, self-display is out of place:
speak with knowledge, O wise one, or be silent.
Saqi, pour the wine, for the rendi of Hafez has been understood
by the Asaf, lord of the happy conjunction, who pardons sins and covers faults.