Ghazal 359 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
خُرَّم آن روز کز این منزلِ ویران برومراحتِ جان طلبم و از پِیِ جانان بروم
khorram ân ruz k-az in manzel-e virân beravam / râhat-e jân talabam v-az pey-e jânân beravam
Happy the day I leave this ruined lodging: I will seek ease for my soul and go after the beloved.
COUPLET 2
گر چه دانم که به جایی نَبَرد راه غریبمن به بویِ سرِ آن زلفِ پریشان بروم
gar che dânam ke be jâyi nabarad râh gharib / man be bu-ye sar-e ân zolf-e parishân beravam
Though I know a stranger never finds the way anywhere, I will go, led by the scent of that disheveled curl.
COUPLET 3
دلم از وحشتِ زندانِ سِکَندَر بگِرفترخت بربندم و تا مُلکِ سلیمان بروم
delam az vahshat-e zendân-e sekandar begreft / rakht barbandam o tâ molk-e soleymân beravam
My heart is weary of the gloom of Alexander's prison. I will pack my things and go to the kingdom of Solomon.
COUPLET 4
چون صبا با تنِ بیمار و دلِ بی‌طاقتبه هواداریِ آن سروِ خُرامان بروم
chon sabâ bâ tan-e bimâr o del-e bi-tâghat / be havâdâri-ye ân sarv-e kharâmân beravam
Like the morning breeze, with a sick body and a restless heart, I will go out of devotion to that gracefully swaying cypress.
COUPLET 5
در رهِ او چو قلم گر به سرم باید رفتبا دلِ زخم‌کَش و دیدهٔ گریان بروم
dar rah-e u cho ghalam gar be saram bâyad raft / bâ del-e zakhm-kesh o dide-ye geryân beravam
If on that road I must walk on my head like a pen, I will go with a wounded heart and weeping eyes.
COUPLET 6
نذر کردم گر از این غم به درآیم روزیتا درِ میکده شادان و غزل‌خوان بروم
nazr kardam gar az in gham be dar âyam ruzi / tâ dar-e meykade shâdân o ghazal-khân beravam
I have made a vow: if one day I come out of this sorrow, I will go to the tavern door, happy and singing ghazals.
COUPLET 7
به هواداری او ذَرِّه‌صفت، رقص‌کنانتا لبِ چشمهٔ خورشیدِ درخشان بروم
be havâdâri-ye u zarre-sefat raghs-konân / tâ lab-e cheshme-ye khorshid-e derakhshân beravam
Out of devotion to that one, dancing like a mote of dust in the light, I will go all the way to the rim of the shining sun's fountain.
COUPLET 8
تازیان را غمِ احوالِ گران‌باران نیستپارسایان مددی تا خوش و آسان بروم
tâziyân râ gham-e ahvâl-e gerân-bârân nist / pârsâyân madadi tâ khosh o âsân beravam
Swift Arab riders do not care how the heavily laden fare. You pious ones, give me some help, so that I may travel well and with ease.
COUPLET 9
ور چو حافظ ز بیابان نبرم رَه بیرونهمرهِ کوکبهٔ آصفِ دوران بروم
var cho Hâfez ze biyâbân nabaram rah birun / hamrah-e kowkabe-ye âsef-e dowrân beravam
And if, like Hafez, I cannot find my way out of this desert, I will travel in the splendid train of the Asaf of our age.
What this fâl tells you
This fal is a traveler's song: the heart is tired of a narrow, gloomy place and longs to pack up and go toward what it loves. Tradition reads it as a sign that a change of place or a fresh start is near, and that a vow made in hard times will be kept with joy. Accept help from good companions; the road becomes easier when you do not walk it alone.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: beravam. qâfiye: -ân (virân, jânân, parishân, soleymân, kharâmân, geryân, ghazal-khân, derakhshân, âsân, dowrân). "Alexander's prison" is traditionally taken as the city of Yazd and "Solomon's kingdom" as Fars, Hafez's home province.
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| khorram | cheerful dictionary | |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| ruz | day dictionary | |
| کز | k-az | that from (= ke az) (که از) |
| in | this dictionary | |
| منزل | manzel | stopping place, lodging; house dictionary |
| ویران | virân | ruined dictionary |
| beravam | I go dictionary | |
| râhat | comfort, ease dictionary | |
| jân | life, soul dictionary | |
| talabam | I ask for dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| پی | pey | after; pey-e kâri gereftan = to go off about some business dictionary |
| jânân | the beloved (معشوق) | |
| گر | gar | if (= agar) (اگر) dictionary |
| چه | che | gar che = although dictionary |
| dânam | I know dictionary | |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| jâyi | somewhere dictionary | |
| نبرد | nabarad | does not take; râh be jâyi nabordan = to get nowhere dictionary |
| râh | way, road dictionary | |
| gharib | stranger, someone far from home dictionary | |
| من | man | I, me dictionary |
| bu-ye | scent of (ezafe) dictionary | |
| sar | tip, end; also longing, desire dictionary | |
| zolf | curl, lock of hair dictionary | |
| پریشان | parishân | scattered, disheveled; distressed dictionary |
| delam | my heart dictionary | |
| وحشت | vahshat | gloom, dread, loneliness dictionary |
| zendân | prison dictionary | |
| sekandar | Alexander the Great (اسکندر) | |
| begreft | grew weary, was saddened (del gereftan) (گرفت) dictionary | |
| rakht | baggage, belongings dictionary | |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| چون | chon | since, when; like dictionary |
| sabâ | the morning breeze, which carries messages between lovers in poetry (نسیم صبح) | |
| bâ | with dictionary | |
| tan | body dictionary | |
| bimâr | ill dictionary | |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| sarv | cypress (image of a tall beloved) dictionary | |
| kharâmân | strolling gracefully dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| rah | road, way (short for râh) (راه) | |
| u | him / her (Persian does not mark gender) dictionary | |
| چو | cho | since, when; like (= chon) (چون) |
| قلم | ghalam | pen; ghalam zadan bar = to strike out, cancel dictionary |
| saram | my head; over me dictionary | |
| raft | went dictionary | |
| dide | eye (چشم) | |
| گریان | geryân | weeping dictionary |
| نذر | nazr | vow; nazr kardan = to make a vow dictionary |
| کردم | kardam | I did, I made dictionary |
| gham | sorrow, grief dictionary | |
| میکده | meykade | tavern dictionary |
| ghazal-khân | singing a ghazal dictionary | |
| لب | lab | edge, rim dictionary |
| چشمهٔ | cheshme | spring, fountain dictionary |
| derakhshân | shining dictionary | |
| tâziyân | Arabs; swift Arab riders or horses dictionary | |
| گران‌باران | gerân-bârân | the heavily laden dictionary |
| نیست | nist | is not; there is not dictionary |
| پارسایان | pârsâyân | pious ones, devout people dictionary |
| madadi | some help dictionary | |
| khosh | well, sweetly; pleasant dictionary | |
| ور | var | and if (= va agar) (و اگر) |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| نبرم | nabaram | I do not take; rah birun nabaram = I do not find my way out dictionary |
| birun | outside dictionary | |
| همره | hamrah | companion of (همراه) |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 359. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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