In the intricate world of Persian poetry, the ghazal reigns as a timeless expression of passion, pain, and the mystic interplay between love and longing. Today, we journey into one of Ovhadi’s stirring ghazals—a composition where every couplet unveils the bittersweet agony of separation and the transformative magic of love. Its verses, rich in imagery and emotion, invite us to explore how suffering can be refined into beauty, and how even the harshest curses may turn sweet upon the beloved’s lips.

The Original Ghazal (Persian)

بی‌تو دل و جان من زیر و زبر می‌شود
دم به دمم درد دل بیش و بتر می‌شود

عمر به سر شد مرا در غم هجران تو
تا تو نگویی: مرا بی‌تو به سر می‌شود

از رخ چون شمع خود روشنییی پیش تو
کین شب تاریک ما دیر سحر می‌شود

چند بپوشیدم این راز دل و خلق را
از سخن عاشقان زود خبر می‌شود

هر چه تو خواهی بگوی، کین همه دشنام تلخ
چون به لبت می‌رسد شهد و شکر می‌شود

گر نه دل اوحدی سوخته‌ای، هر دمش
سینه چه جان می‌کند، دیده چه تر می‌شود؟

A Poetic Translation to English

I.
Without you, my heart and soul descend into disarray;
With every fleeting moment, the ache within grows ever more severe.

II.
My life seems spent in the sorrow of your absence, dear—
Until you whisper that without you, life somehow endures.

III.
From your radiant face, like a candle’s gentle glow, light unfolds;
So that even this dark, endless night delays its coming dawn.

IV.
How many layers I have drawn over the secret of my heart and being,
Yet the language of lovers cannot help but reveal it all too soon.

V.
Whatever bitter curse you might dare to utter,
Transforms at your lips into a sweetness akin to honey and sugar.

VI.
And if you have not, in every moment, ignited a singular flame within your heart,
Then how can the breast be stirred with life, or the eyes be moistened by tears?

Reflections on the Mystical Language of Love

Ovhadi’s ghazal is more than a mere lament—it is a meditation on the paradoxes inherent in love. In the very first couplet, we witness the poet’s inner world in turmoil, where absence breeds chaos and every moment deepens the wound. Yet, there is also a yearning for the beloved’s assurance—a whispered promise that even in separation, life finds a way.

The third couplet shifts our gaze to the luminous power of the beloved. Like a candle that defies the consuming darkness, your face transforms a night of despair into the hopeful pause before dawn. Such imagery encapsulates the mystical belief that beauty and love have the power to momentarily suspend the relentless march of time.

In the subsequent verses, the poet reveals a secret struggle: the effort to conceal the inner truth of his love even as the language of passion spills forth inevitably. There is an alchemy at play here—harsh words, which might otherwise wound, are transmuted into a delicate sweetness when they emanate from the beloved’s lips. This transformation hints at a universal truth in Persian thought: that love, even in its most painful expressions, possesses a redemptive quality.

The final couplet poses a poignant question—one that challenges the listener to consider whether true passion must be accompanied by burning anguish. It is in this searing intensity that life, emotion, and art are born. Without the fire of love’s torment, how could one experience the profound depths of the heart’s stirrings?

Concluding Thoughts

Ovhadi’s ghazal invites us to dwell in a realm where love is both a curse and a cure—a force that shatters the mundane and elevates the spirit. Its verses echo with the eternal rhythm of longing, reminding us that the pain of separation is often the very soil from which beauty and transcendence bloom. As we ponder these words, we are left with the lingering truth that to love is to live in a state of perpetual transformation—where even the harshest lament may ultimately be rendered into sweet, eternal poetry.

May these verses resonate within your soul, and may you find in them a reflection of the bittersweet, transformative power of love.