Ghazal 317

Elnaz Zandian

Bluntly, with joy for my words, I unveil this truth.
In the chains of love, I’m free from both heaven and earth.
Once, the Garden’s bird, now left with no parting songs,
For how thus I’ve fallen, deep, trapped in these throngs.
Once, an angel I was, in Paradise I dwelled.
By Adam, I’m down in this ruined cloister, expelled.
The Tooba tree’s shade, the angel’s caress, the pool’s hue;
All forgotten, by the mere thought of the path to you.
Save the alef of the beloved’s frame, no letter carves my heart.
What’s to be done? The Teacher taught me just this one part.
Unknown to the oracles were my stars to see.
O Lord, for what fate has Mother World given birth to me?
Ever since I wore the servants’ mark in the tavern of love,
With each breath comes a fresh gift of pain from above.
Well-deserved, my eyes suffer from the wound in my heart;
For I have given to a mother’s dearest, my heart’s every part.
With a lock of your hair, wipe the tears from Hafez’s face.
Or else, this constant flood washes away my entire foundation and base.