Ghazal · 14th century

The Breeze of Mosalla

Obeyd Zakaniعبید زاکانی

نسیم خاک مصلی و آب رکن آباد

The breeze from the soil of Mosalla and the water of Roknabad

غریب را وطن خویش می برد از یاد

make the stranger forget his own homeland.

زهی خجسته مقامی و جانفزا ملکی

What a blessed place, what a soul-reviving land!

که باد خطه عالیش تا ابد آباد

May its lofty realm flourish for ever.

به هر طرف که روی نغمه می کند بلبل

Wherever you go, the nightingale is singing;

به هر چمن که رسی جلوه می کند شمشاد

in every meadow you reach, the box tree shows its grace.

به هر که درنگری شاهدیست چون شیرین

Everyone you look at is a beauty like Shirin;

به هر که برگذری عاشقیست چون فرهاد

everyone you pass is a lover like Farhad.

در این دیار دلم شهر بند دلداریست

In this land my heart is held captive by a beloved

که جان به طلعت او خرمست و خاطر شاد

whose face makes my soul glad and my mind content.

سرم هوای وطن می پزد ولیک دلم

My head is full of longing for home, but my heart

ز بند زلف سیاهش نمی شود آزاد

cannot get free from the snare of that black hair.

ز جور سنبل کافر مزاج او افغان

Alas for the cruelty of those dark, unbelieving curls!

ز دست نرگس جادو فریب او فریاد

Help, against that narcissus eye that bewitches and deceives!

غنیمتست غنیمت شمار فرصت عیش

Seize the moment, seize it; count the time for pleasure a prize,

که تن ضعیف نهاد است و عمر بی‌بنیاد

for the body is frail by nature, and life has no foundation.

From: The Divan of Obeyd Zakani
Translation: Persiahaus Editors
Source: Draft translation from the Ganjoor text
Persian text: Ganjoor

A note for readers

A ghazal in praise of Shiraz, where Obeyd spent much of his career, in the voice of a stranger who longs for home but cannot bring himself to leave. Mosalla and Roknabad, the meadow and stream just outside the city, are the places Hafez also celebrates. The excerpt gives the first eight of its eleven couplets.