i have heard the sublime words of the canaan elder:
separation from the friend cannot be described!
the terror of resurrection that the preacher talks about,
is a metaphor for what he said of separation’s anguish.
from where do i get some truth about the departed friend,
when what the chatty wind has to say is all confused?
alas, that the cruel and unkind moon- the enemy’s lover,
has so glibly spoken of abandoning his own friends!
my station of contentment, after all, is thanks to the rival:
the heart has accepted your pain, and forsaken remedy.
don’t pin your hopes on the wind, even if it conveys desire:
because this proverb is what the wind said to solomon.
regardless of what the heavens grant you- stay on the path;
who told you that this world has given up telling lies!
defend yourself from ancient despair with mature wine:
this is the fount of joy spoken of by the inspired bard!
like a fortunate slave, don’t sigh a breath about why or what;
the lover takes to heart every word the beloved breathes!
who has said that hafez has repented of the thought of you?
i have not said this! the man who said this is a slanderer!
notes: canaan elder= jacob, father of joseph from whom he was
separated.
italics: couplet from meher baba’s placard placed in his bedroom
before he “dropped his body.”
the verb in the first line, dam zadan, means “to sigh.”
the first verb in the second line, qabul kardan, means
“to accept, receive”. the second and last verb is “goftan”
which means “to speak, say,” but i took a small liberty
and used the verb “to breathe” because the image is
of the command not to “sigh away” the words that
the beloved speaks (breathes) to the lover.
in the edition baba used, “sultan” is substituted for
“beloved”, but which baba translated as “master”.
