ASK THE MORNING BREEZE
Come!
For the foundations
of the palace of desire
are weak
Bring wine!
For the footings
of life
are on the wind.
If you feel weak, feeble,
and powerless, well,
so does the breeze.
Being sick on the Path
is a hundred times better
than a healthy mind
in a healthy body.
If you would
like to fill
the world
with beauty
eternally
ask the morning breeze
to lift for a moment
the veil
from your face.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ghazal 37 by Hafez, translated by Peter Booth
From The Illuminated Hafez:
Love Poems for the Journey to Light.
Illustration from Persian mirror case painting by Ali Ashraf, 1751
