for Valentine’s Day from Hafiz

Oh my dear, how can I speak of being apart from you?
The eyes know a hundred tears, and the soul has a hundred sighs.

I’d not have an infidel suffer the torment your beauty has caused
To the cypress which envies your body, and the moon that’s outshone by your face.

translated by Peter Avery & John Heath-Stubbs

from There Is Nothing In This Well But Wind by Hafiz

I have asked the eye of my heart: what is the use of all this worrying?

So don’t waste your time trying to fill your cup with water
When you know that there is nothing in this well but wind.

O Hafiz, in this desert, you have fallen victim to your own illusions.
When was a pilgrim’s thirst ever quenched by a mirage?

translated by Thomas Rain Crowe