One cannot easily boast of being a lover

A thousand subtleties exist in this art for you to learn

Beauty is more than a sweet tongue

One cannot claim Solomon’s greatness with just a ring

A thousand empires of charm fall short

Of the art of embedding yourself in a heart

What storms you’ve stirred from my being

May your steed, which you ride swiftly, never tire

Bow your head to the company of the wise

For treasures lie in this disorder and humility

Bring the colorful wine, for I will tell a true tale

I will speak without blemishing my faith

I bow to the dust of the early drinkers' feet when I am drunk

Standing at the tavern door as a doorkeeper

I never passed by a pious pretender

Who did not secretly hide a Zoroastrian cord beneath his cloak

By the name of your beloved’s tress, do some good

So that God may protect her from distress

Do not turn your gaze of grace away from Hafez

Or else I will complain to Asaf the Second

The minister, a lord of earth and time marked by the king

In whom both companionship and spirit find joy

The pillar of this world’s state, Muhammad ibn Ali

Whose face radiates divine grace

Oh, what noble traits, when in righteous thought

It suits you to claim the rule of the world

The enduring state’s adornment suits you well

For your ambition does not invoke the transient world

If your treasures of generosity do not support

All the earth will descend into ruin

You, whose body has the substance

Of a divine essence dressed in human form

What level of reverence can be installed

When in the paths of thought, you surpass even that

In the sanctum of cherubic beings of the holy realm

The scratching of your pen is their spiritual melody

You deserve the noble gratitude of generosity

As you spread your sleeves in kindness to the world

How can I describe the lightning of your wrath?

I seek refuge in God from those stormy trials

How can I narrate the records of Your grace?

Blessed be the divine Maker who resolves every case

Now that the rose's beauty in the garden's scene

Finds no companion but the soul of the morning breeze serene

The anemone, following the rose’s sovereign call, unfolds anew

Its crimson caps to the sails of the morning zephyr’s view

By the effort of the spring breeze, it attained this state,

Boasting of the grace that animates life innate

At dawn, how pleasant it was to hear a nightingale’s sweet sound

Singing to the bud, delivering its eloquent round

Why sit so downhearted? Emerge from the veil, it said

For in the vessel lies a wine red as a pomegranate’s head

Do not abstain from drinking to the rose’s beauty for a month’s span

For in the next month, regret will grip you, O man

Rejoice for the false accusations have disappeared at last

Strive to take joy from roses and honey’s repast

Oppression is not the way of piety—never can it be!

Divine law is all grace and kindness, eternally

What does that heedless one know of 'I am the Truth' divine?

Who has not been drawn by celestial attractions fine

Within the rose’s veil, see how the bud prepares,

For your foe’s eyes, a ruby arrow it shares

The minister’s hall is a joyful place; do not delay, O cupbearer,

Let not anything but the wine-cup weigh heavy there

You were that dawn of hope, rising with affection’s light,

Emerging and ending the dark, oppressive night

I have heard that you remember me from time to time,

Yet to your intimate circle, you do not invite me to chime

You do not seek my words—this is your injustice plain,

Otherwise, what dispute could we have about eloquence’s domain?

Of the world’s guardians, none has collected like me,

Wisdom’s subtleties paired with the Qur’an’s harmony

My praises grant you a thousand years of life to see,

Such a precious treasure is offered to one like thee

My speech grew long, but I hope with certainty,

That you will cover this tale with your cloak of mercy

Always, as spring air graces the garden’s page,

May a thousand patterns bloom from verdant lines, age by age

In the royal garden, from the branch of hope long-lived,

May the flower of your fortune bloom with ease, God-given