Ghazal No 4
If in your love I meet my end, how sweet to die,
Or if your breath restores my soul, what joy is nigh.
You are an ocean, vast with grace, I but a shell,
If one pure drop I drink of you, all will be well.
The morning breaks—if with true wine my cup you fill,
This aged heart shall find renewal, freshened still.
Last night within your arms I rested, calm, complete,
Today, though sated with your loss, the pain is sweet.
I cannot from the corner of your glance depart,
Yet if I hide from time awhile, it soothes my heart.
Each moment from your love my thirsty soul is fed,
From such abundant grace I raise no restless head.
O friend! If union’s hand at last should draw me near,
Then exile’s wound was but compulsion I must bear.
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Explanatory Footnotes
1. Aged heart – Refers to a heart worn out by long years of love and suffering, not merely old in age.
2. Wine – Symbol of both earthly drink and mystical ecstasy, representing divine or passionate love.
3. Corner of your glance – Suggests a fleeting, subtle look filled with allure and deep meaning.
4. Sated with your loss – Expresses the paradox of being overwhelmed by separation yet finding a strange sweetness in it.
5. Union and exile – “Union” means the joy of being with the beloved, while “exile” conveys the torment of forced separation.
Copyright © Saeed Koushan | Year Posted 2025
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