Ghazal 214 of Hafez (9 couplets), in the original Persian as on Ganjoor, with a transliteration, a plain English translation, the meanings of key words and the traditional fâl-e Hâfez reading.
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COUPLET 1
دیدم به خوابِ خوش که به دستم پیاله بودتعبیر رفت و کار به دولت حواله بود
didam be khâb-e khosh ke be dastam piyâle bud / ta'bir raft o kâr be dowlat havâle bud
In a sweet dream I saw a cup in my hand; the dream was interpreted, and my affairs were placed in the hands of good fortune.
COUPLET 2
چل سال رنج و غصّه کشیدیم و عاقبتتدبیرِ ما به دستِ شرابِ دوساله بود
chel sâl ranj o ghosse kashidim o âghebat / tadbir-e mâ be dast-e sharâb-e dosâle bud
For forty years we suffered pain and sorrow, and in the end our remedy lay in the hands of two-year-old wine.
COUPLET 3
آن نافهٔ مراد که می‌خواستم ز بختدر چینِ زلفِ آن بتِ مشکین کُلاله بود
ân nâfe-ye morâd ke mikhâstam ze bakht / dar chin-e zolf-e ân bot-e meshkin-kolâle bud
The musk pod of my desire, which I kept asking fortune for, was in the folds of the hair of that idol with musky curls.
COUPLET 4
از دست برده بود خمارِ غمم سحردولت مساعد آمد و مِی در پیاله بود
az dast borde bud khomâr-e ghamam sahar / dowlat mosâ'ed âmad o mey dar piyâle bud
At dawn the hangover of my grief had knocked me down; then fortune came to my aid, and there was wine in the cup.
COUPLET 5
بر آستانِ میکده خون می‌خورم مدامروزیِّ ما ز خوانِ قَدَر این نَواله بود
bar âstân-e meykade khun mikhoram modâm / ruzi-ye mâ ze khân-e ghadar in navâle bud
At the tavern's threshold I swallow blood all the time; from the table of destiny, this was the morsel allotted to us.
COUPLET 6
هر کو نکاشت مِهر و ز خوبی گُلی نچیددر رهگذارِ باد نگهبانِ لاله بود
har k-u nakâsht mehr o ze khubi goli nachid / dar rahgozâr-e bâd negahbân-e lâle bud
Whoever did not sow love and picked no rose from goodness was only guarding a tulip in the path of the wind.
COUPLET 7
بر طَرْفِ گلشنم گذر افتاد وقتِ صبحآن دَم که کارِ مرغِ سحر آه و ناله بود
bar taraf-e golshanam gozar oftâd vaght-e sobh / ân dam ke kâr-e morgh-e sahar âh o nâle bud
In the morning my path took me by the edge of the rose garden, at the moment when the dawn bird was busy sighing and lamenting.
COUPLET 8
دیدیم شعرِ دلکش حافظ به مدحِ شاهیک بیت از این قصیده به از صد رساله بود
didim she'r-e delkash-e Hâfez be madh-e shâh / yek beyt az in ghaside beh az sad resâle bud
We read Hafez's charming poem in praise of the king: a single line of this ode was worth more than a hundred treatises.
COUPLET 9
آن شاهِ تندحمله که خورشیدِ شیرگیرپیشش به روزِ معرکه کمتر غزاله بود
ân shâh-e tond-hamle ke khorshid-e shirgir / pishash be ruz-e ma'reke kamtar ghazâle bud
That swift-charging king, before whom, on the day of battle, even the lion-hunting sun was the least of fawns.
What this fâl tells you
A sweet dream with a cup in hand: tradition reads this fal as a fortunate sign that after long trouble your affairs are passing into the hands of good luck. Help will come just when you feel low. Meanwhile, sow kindness and gather goodness, because what is not tended is easily lost to the wind.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: bud ("was"). qâfiye: -âle (piyâle, havâle, dosâle, kolâle, navâle, lâle, nâle, resâle, ghazâle).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| didam | I saw dictionary | |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| khâb | sleep dictionary | |
| khosh | well, sweetly; pleasant dictionary | |
| dastam | my hand; az dast raftan = to slip out of one's control dictionary | |
| پیاله | piyâle | cup dictionary |
| bud | was dictionary | |
| ta'bir | interpretation (of a dream) dictionary | |
| raft | went dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| کار | kâr | work; affair, matter dictionary |
| dowlat | good fortune (classical sense) (اقبال) dictionary | |
| havâle | referred, entrusted dictionary | |
| چل | chel | forty (چهل) |
| sâl | year dictionary | |
| ranj | pain, suffering dictionary | |
| ghosse | sorrow, worry dictionary | |
| کشیدیم | kashidim | we suffered, endured dictionary |
| âghebat | end, outcome dictionary | |
| tadbir | plan, course of action dictionary | |
| ما | mâ | we, us; our dictionary |
| dast | hand dictionary | |
| sharâb | wine dictionary | |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| مراد | morâd | wish, desire dictionary |
| می‌خواستم | mikhâstam | I wanted dictionary |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| bakht | fortune, luck dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| چین | chin | fold, curl (also China, land of musk) dictionary |
| zolf | curl, lock of hair dictionary | |
| bot | idol; the beautiful beloved dictionary | |
| borde | taken; az dast borde = had overcome, knocked down dictionary | |
| khomâr | hangover dictionary | |
| ghamam | my grief dictionary | |
| sehr | magic dictionary | |
| مساعد | mosâ'ed | helpful, favorable dictionary |
| âmad | came dictionary | |
| mey | wine (شراب) dictionary | |
| bar | on, upon dictionary | |
| میکده | meykade | tavern dictionary |
| khun | blood dictionary | |
| می‌خورم | mikhoram | I drink; khun khordan = to swallow blood, to suffer dictionary |
| مدام | modâm | constant, lasting; also "wine" (pun) dictionary |
| khân | tray of food, feast laid out (سفره) | |
| قدر | ghadar | destiny, fate (تقدیر) |
| in | this dictionary | |
| هر | har | every dictionary |
| کو | k-u | who (= ke u) (که او) dictionary |
| نکاشت | nakâsht | did not sow dictionary |
| مهر | mehr | love, kindness dictionary |
| khubi | goodness, beauty dictionary | |
| goli | a rose, a flower dictionary | |
| نچید | nachid | did not pick dictionary |
| bâd | wind dictionary | |
| نگهبان | negahbân | guard, keeper dictionary |
| taraf | side, region dictionary | |
| گذر | gozar | passage dictionary |
| oftâd | fell; happened, arose (پیش آمد) dictionary | |
| وقت | vaght | time dictionary |
| sobh | morning dictionary | |
| dam | moment; breath dictionary | |
| مرغ | morgh | bird dictionary |
| ناله | nâle | moan, lament dictionary |
| didim | we saw dictionary | |
| she'r | poem, poetry dictionary | |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| مدح | madh | praise dictionary |
| shâh | king dictionary | |
| یک | yek | one dictionary |
| قصیده | ghaside | ode (here: this poem) dictionary |
| sad | hundred dictionary | |
| پیشش | pishash | in front of it dictionary |
| ruz | day dictionary | |
| کمتر | kamtar | less dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 214. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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