Now that all your worry has proved such an unlucrative business,
why not find a better job?
I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness
the astonishing light of your own being
Even after all this time,
the sun never says to the earth
“you owe me.”
Look what happens
with a love like that.
It lights the whole sky.
The words you speak
become the house you live in.
Ever since happiness heard your name,
it has been running through the streets
trying to find you.
Fear is the cheapest room in the house.
I would like to see you living In better conditions.
This place where you are right now,
God circled on a map for you.
One regret, dear world,
that I am determined not to have
when I am lying on my deathbed
is that I did not kiss you enough.
There is a Beautiful Creature
Living in a hole you have dug.
So at night I set fruit and grains
And little pots of wine and milk
Besides your soft earthen mounds,
And I often sing.
But still, my dear,
You do not come out.
I have fallen in love with Someone
Who hides inside you.
We should talk about this problem–
Otherwise, I will never leave you alone.
Stay close to any sounds
that make you glad you are alive.
You carry all the ingredients
to turn your life into a nightmare
–Don’t mix them!
A day of silence can be a pilgrimage in itself.
From Wikipedia: Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمسالدین محمد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hāfez (حافظ; also Hāfiz) (1325/26–1389/1390), was a Persian poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian literature are to be found in the homes of most people in Iran who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-fourteenth century Persian writing more than any other author.