Hafez · Ghazal 481 · Hear this subtle point
بشنو این نکته که خود را ز غم آزاده کنیخون خوری گر طلب روزی ننهاده کنی
آخرالامر گل کوزه‌گران خواهی شدحالیا فکر سبو کن که پر از باده کنی
گر از آن آدمیانی که بهشتت هوس استعیش با آدمی‌یی چند پری‌زاده کنی
تکیه بر جای بزرگان نتوان زد به گزافمگر اسباب بزرگی همه آماده کنی
اجرها باشدت ای خسرو شیرین‌دهنانگر نگاهی سوی فرهاد دل‌افتاده کنی
خاطرت کی رقم فیض پذیرد، هیهات!مگر از نقش پراگنده ورق ساده کنی
کار خود گر به کرم بازگذاری حافظای بسا عیش که با بخت خداداده کنی
ای صبا بندگی خواجه جلال‌الدین کنکه جهان پر سمن و سوسن آزاده کنی
Hafez offers you a subtle point that can set you free: do not wear yourself out chasing what was never meant for you. Instead, fill the jug you have, enjoy good company, and prepare yourself patiently for the place you hope to reach. Grace, he says, writes only on a clean page, so let go of the scattered thoughts that crowd your mind. If you leave your affairs to that grace, rather than gripping them tightly, you may be surprised by how much joy is already set aside for you.
Hear this subtle point, so you may set yourself free from grief:
you will drink blood if you seek a portion that was not set aside for you.
In the end you will become the potters' clay;
for now, think of the jug, and fill it with wine.
If you are one of those people who long for paradise,
spend your joy now with a few humans born of fairies.
One cannot lean back in the seat of the great at random,
unless you have prepared all the means of greatness.
You will have many rewards, O Khosrow of the sweet-lipped,
if you cast one glance towards Farhad, whose heart has fallen.
When will your mind receive the writing of grace? How far off that is!
Not until you wipe the page clean of scattered marks.
If you leave your affairs to grace, Hafez,
oh, how much joy you will have with God-given fortune!
O breeze, go and serve Khwaja Jalal al-Din,
so that you fill the world with jasmine and the free lily.