(a ghazal of Hâfiz)

yusof-e gomgashteh bâz âyad be-kan`ân ghamm ma-khvor
kolbeh-ye ahzân shavad ruzi golestân ghamm ma-khvor

Joseph who was lost will come back again to Canaan; be not grieved.
One day the hut of sorrows will become a rose garden; be not grieved.

in del-e ghammdideh hâlesh be-shavad del bad ma-kon
vin sar-e shurideh bâz âyad be-sâmân ghamm ma-khvor

This saddened heart will change its state (for the better); do not make thy heart bad.
And this frenzied head will settle down again; be not grieved.

gar bahâr-e `omr bâshad bâz bar takht-e chaman
chatr-e gol dar sar kashi ay morgh-e khvosh-khvân ghamm ma-khvor

If the Springtime of Life will be back again on the garden’s throne,
thou wilt pull a canopy of roses over thy head; O sweetly singing bird, be not grieved.

ay del ar sayl-e balâ bonyâd-e hasti bar konad
chon torâ nuhast kashtibân ze tufân ghamm ma-khvor

O heart, if the torrent of troubles engulfs the foundation of existence,
when thou hast Noah for a captain, from the storm be not grieved.

dawr-e gardun gar daw ruzi bar morâd-e mâ na-raft
dâyeman yaksân na-bâshad hâl-e dawrân ghamm ma-khvor

If one day the spinning wheel (of fortune) did not run according to my wishes,
the state of revolving will not always be the same; be not grieved.

hân ma-shaw nawmid chon vâqef na’i az serr-e ghayb
bâshad andar pardeh bâzi-hâ-ye penhân ghamm ma-khvor

Come, do not despair when thou art not aware of the secret of the Unseen;
behind the veil there be hidden plays; be not grieved.

dar biyâbân gar be-shawq-e ka`beh khvâhi zad qadam
sarzanesh-hâ gar konad khâr-e moghilân ghamm ma-khvor

If thou wouldst walk in the desert with the desire of reaching the Ka`bah,
if the thorn of the acacia hurts thee, be not grieved.

garcheh manzel bas khatarnâkast o maqsad bas ba`id
hich râhi nist kân-râ nist pâyân ghamm ma-khvor

Though the stage of the journey be quite perilous, and the goal so far away,
there is no path that does not have an end; be not grieved.

hâl-e mâ dar forqat-e jânân o ebrâm-e raqib
jomleh mi dânad khodâ-ye hâl-e gardân ghamm ma-khvor

My state is in the separation of souls and the persistence of the antagonist.
The Lord of the revolving state knows all; be not grieved.

hâfezâ dar konj-e faqr o khalvat-e shab-hâ-ye târ
tâ bovad verdet do`â o dars-e qor’ân ghamm ma-khvor

Hâfiz, in the corner of spiritual poverty and the seclusion of the dark nights,
as long as thou art saying prayers and dhikr and studying the Qur’ân, be not grieved.

(Note that Hâfiz repeatedly uses the word hâl [state]; in Sufi terminology this means something temporary, always turning, changing, transforming into something else. "This too shall pass." There is a lot of imagery of turning, turning, coming around, coming back again. But he ends on a note of timeless permanence in worship, because in the remembrance of Allah we can step outside the changes of time and into the eternal moment.)

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