Ghazal 198 (غزل ۱۹۸) · Divan of Hafez
گفتم کِی ام دهان و لبت کامران کنند؟
goftam keyam dahān o labat kāmrān konand
goftā be-chashm har che to gūyī chonān konand
goftam kharāj-e Meṣr ṭalab mīkonad labat
goftā dar īn moʿāmele kamtar zīān konand
goftam be-noqte-ye dahanat khod ke bord rāh
goft īn ḥekāyatīst ke bā noktedān konand
goftam ṣanamparast mashow bā Ṣamad neshīn
goftā be-kū-ye ʿeshq ham īn o ham ān konand
goftam havā-ye meykade gham mībarad ze del
goftā khosh ān kasān ke delī shādmān konand
goftam sharāb o kherqe na āyīn-e mazhab ast
goft īn ʿamal be-mazhab-e pīr-e moghān konand
goftam ze laʿl-e nūshlabān pīr rā che sūd
goftā be-būse-ye shekarīnash javān konand
goftam ke khāje key be-sar-e ḥejle mīravad
goft ān zamān ke moshtarī o mah qerān konand
goftam doʿā-ye dowlat-e ū verd-e Ḥāfeẓ ast
goft īn doʿā malāyek-e haft āsmān konand
The Persian verses are from the Divan of Hafez of Shiraz, drawn from the public-domain ganjoor archive, and presented unchanged. The transliteration is model-assisted and awaiting review by a Persian-literate reader — if you spot a slip, we’d love to hear.
Hold a question in your heart, and let a verse of Hafez answer it.