Best Hafez Poems
I'm proud to be a Persian, there's no doubt
though some may look at me with veiled disdain
To honored heritage, I give a shout,
and here I bare my love in words made plain
When Cyrus captured Babylon's strong hold
The greatest in the world this man became
"Anointed One", in scriptures, name so bold
Religious freedom reigned; he banished shame
And through the years this country has survived
Though some have sought to crush it to the ground
its music, lore, and culture only thrived!
The wonders of my country still astound
Rich flavors mix in scrumptious Persian food
and saffron beautifies the long grained rice
Delicacies await each interlude
Desserts so decadent beg one more slice!
My heart just thrills when Farsi greets my ear
A language soft, melodious and sweet
When set to music, all the world must hear
Indulgent rhyming words, a lover's treat
You claim to know Hafez and love Rumi
“A Thousand and one Nights”: a splendid tale!
Well then, my dearest friend, listen to me,
for these great writers from this country hail
Armenian Persian is my ancestry
My childhood in Iran, a glorious time!
Leave prejudices out of poetry
My Persian pride will live on in this rhyme!
Eileen Manassian
Cyrus the Great is mentioned in the Bible:
Isaiah 45:1-13
"This says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom I have seized by the right, to subdue nations before him." He was known to be benevolent and to give those he conquered the right to worship as they wished. Also, the Jews were given the opportunity to rebuild the temple during the reign of another Persian king, Artaxerxes.
I thought I would just give a footnote so that the reader will understand the references in the poem. We all have to be proud of our heritage. I haven't been back to my country since I was 11 due to various reasons, but...the memories I have will always warm my heart.
Poetic forms like the Rubaiyat and Ghazal are Persian forms, along with the Mathnawi. Persia is famous for its carpets, cats, and caviar...the three C's...along with so much more. Of course, my daughter's name, SHEREEN is Farsi and it means...SWEET. :)
Fastest,Highest and Strongest a moment’s story,
Citius ,Altius ,Forius – a better story of Olympic glory.
Bolt ,Ukhov and Hafez the greatest of achievers
Are only miniature images in the Olympic rings.
March of Athens to London-2012 is over
Yet for another city the torch to twitter;
Track and pace exploring new horizons
Faster,Higher and Stronger as solutions.
The colours of all nations closely intertwine ,
Nations fall ,nations rise,the glories only shine;
Olympics preaches the dignity of participation
Run jump and lift to make life a competition .
Nobody is the strongest only stronger prevails ,
Nobody is the fastest , time better unveils .21.08.2012
The path to the wisdom
I was in love with a flower; now I am in love with light.
I escaped from pain and sorrow, even though was such delight.
I told my story in secret to all the birds and bees;
The light that I fell in love with it always brightens our night.
Your love is the source of brightness; your warmth engulfs the soul.
Your shine clears the darkness, and lovers will win the fight.
I and all Swallows together are looking for the spring.
We got lost in the autumn, but the winter is cold and fright.
We didn’t see the twilight; we lived in the longest night.
The dawn of tomorrow will make our day so bright.
The breeze told the flowers, Ask, Listen and Trust;
Follow your path to wisdom until we will all unite.
My part in this story is the tiniest part, indeed.
The nature wrote the story because nobody else can write.
12/2015
Pashang Salehi “ Haloo”
For the contest, Poetry Writing #1, sponsor Broken Wings
The form that I chose is called “GHAZAL.”
It is an old traditional Persian style of poetry with a fixed number of lines (between five and fifteen lines). Each line consists of two half verses or (Mesra). Each line must have the same length and syllables (weight). In the first line, both half verses must rhyme (sometimes followed by a refrain). In the subsequent lines, the second half verse rhymes with the same style with every line. Ghazal expresses the pain of loss and the beauty of love. It is usually ambiguous, and the reader can connect to the poem with their version of understanding and interpretation. I Love Ghazal because I love Hafez, the greatest Persian Poet who ever lived and the true master of Ghazal.
Hafez and I grew up together
in Shiraz, centuries apart with
similar poetic ether.
Wandering the world together
as if from the same mother.
We were never actually together
the word reincarnated is better.
He lives in me and we suffer together
humanity's woes and ethnic the other.
We're global intellectuals chanting together
not the salute of flags and land of the mother
we preach the ethos of unity and together
in trenches of peace and harmony with the other.
We renounce war as our destiny together
and throw nationalism to dustbin as we gather,
tall we stand, and humble, together
on shoulders of giants like Tolstoy, Schweitzer, Camus and reverent other
But, wait, Hafez has asked to write a new stanza together
song of world peace and none other.
In you, full of yourself, we enter together
Go fill your heart with love of the other.
Dedication: To Noam Chomsky
We are the suffering generation
The Conspiracy of Incineration
Has been unleashed upon our Nation.
Battered and bruised, we hold our stations
Against the onslaught of our Education
I can hear them calling me
Feeding off my misery
Will I ever be set free
Will they ever let me be
I weep now for what befalls
The men who walk between these walls
And tremble as the Siren calls
Yet there will be a joyous day
Where we command and you obey!
Inspired by Mohammad Hafez
From the heart of green naïve village
surrounded by corps field, mosque, ponds,
ancestral grave yard, school, college,
madrasah (islamic school) etc he is
brothers, sisters with parents, a beautiful family
with relatives, neighbors he had
learned person he was, full memorizer of
the Holy Quran and institutional study was 10th grade
but dreams touched his eyes, his breaths, his veins
the dream in the hollow eyeballs of him
flaring dreams have been gathered in his sight
dreams touched his ideality, his mediocrity, his learning
against the holy verse
dreams touched him inseparably
dreams touched him within vain clothing
dreams touched him within flirting industrialist mind
dreams touched him within merciless sky scraper building
dreams touched him within fake benevolent charity right hand
dreams touched him abortive assurance giving to others in generosity smiling
dreams made him blind to the path of income
small income once made up him happy with family and relatives
but leaving small, come to big on the lame stretchers dreamy boat
he did not understand- dreams in lazy hands is
misfortunate hell for upcoming every steps
dreams made him luxurious ambitious as
the begging bag before learning how to beg
dreams made him laughter in garrulous argument
as happiness of billionaire under torn blanket
in biting cold winter dreamy night
dream made him foolish dandy in business world
as Xerox machines copying activities
which has no personality to make another root
to survive with it as parasite
dreams made him passerby the dark path
dreams made him lonely walker
dreams made him lonely resident on title-less building of hill view
dreams made him unknown religious in the eye view of unfamiliar him
dreams made him a dark horse in flattering broker world
dreams made him hilarious land lord in his verbose copying documents
dreams made him a beggar in heavenly real eyes of the sun,
crystalline day approved him he was dreamer only
from the dreams he made his journey to be great
benevolent helper of relatives and neighbors
he was dreamer but in paralyzed bone and indolent veins
and this dream awakens him in tears of mysterious death
(Written on my Maternal Uncle Hafez Abdul Allam 4th July 1962-29th July 2018, who was inactive but great dreamer, but sudden death of him makes us heart rending cry)
Cultural and Social Terms
Idol: In Persian poetry, often refers to the beloved, particularly one who is non-Muslim. The term carries complex connotations of forbidden desire and spiritual challenge.
Veil: Refers both to the physical head covering and the metaphysical veil between the material and spiritual worlds in Sufi thought.
Fate's Wheel: The wheel of fortune or destiny (charkh-e falak), a common motif in Persian literature representing the unpredictable nature of fate.
Character Names
Giti: A Persian name meaning "world" or "universe," suggesting the beloved encompasses all existence for the lover.
Saeed: An Arabic name meaning "happy" or "blessed," ironic given the character's suffering in love.
Poetic Devices and Concepts
Ghazal tradition: Though this is a masnavi, it draws heavily from the ghazal (lyric poem) tradition of Persian literature, with its emphasis on unrequited love and spiritual longing.
Tavern: In Sufi poetry, the tavern represents the place of spiritual gathering and divine intoxication, not literal alcohol consumption.
Cup and Wine: The cup represents the heart or soul, while wine represents divine love or spiritual knowledge.
Dawn: Often symbolizes spiritual awakening, hope, or the appearance of the beloved.
Mystical Concepts
Fana: The Sufi concept of self-annihilation or dissolution of the ego in divine love, reflected in the lovers' ultimate union where individual identity dissolves.
Ishq: Divine or passionate love that transcends ordinary human affection, central to Sufi thought and Persian poetry.
Longing (Hijr): The pain of separation from the beloved, considered a necessary stage in spiritual development.
Historical Context
Persian Literary Tradition: This work draws from the rich tradition of Persian mystical poetry, including works by Rumi, Hafez, Saadi, and others who used love poetry as a vehicle for spiritual expression.
Courtly Love: The formal, ritualized expression of love that characterized medieval Persian court culture, with its emphasis on patience, suffering, and devotion.
____________________________________
Note: Many terms in Persian mystical poetry carry multiple layers of meaning - literal, romantic, and spiritual - simultaneously. This ambiguity is intentional and central to the tradition's power and enduring appeal.
Note: This poem was translated from Persian to English by the author on Feb. 13, 2025.
By: Moji Agha (Mojtaba Aghamohammadi)
Dec. 22, 2021
Colorado, U.S.
Dance of Unity and Diversity
O' unity, how beautifully hidden you have become,
deep inside the [infinite] faces of naked diverity!
O' endlessly naked diversity;
You have have made unity dance [in joy]; AMAZING!
(Note: These opening verses appeared in the poet's dream)
O' unity, how amazingly you have become the [precious] apple of our eyes,
since your countless existences, O' our love,
have become hidden, like [countless] grains of sand,
in the equal-making heart of the desert.
And your love, O' the amazingly naked beautiful unity,
has become countless [never-ending] colorful flowers,
in the diversity garden of our existence, O' Soul,
in the unity garden of our Being, O' Beloved.
O' the [tavern] wine-pourer, serve [around the circle] the wine of being [an aware] human,
[because] the dance of unity and diversity is easy.
And I, a single human seed, am lost--in bewildered awe,
given this divine [sufi] dance, that has brought God to dance [in joy].
If you [begin to] see this God-hearing dance;
if you see this dance of [countless] souls with the Beloved,
where would you [then] see problems [O' lover]?
The washing of human eyes and of hearts is easy.
Where have problems appeared, O' lover?
Washing the eyes of the heart is SO easy.
Poetic References:
1) Hafez-e Shirazi (Hafiz of Shiraz)
https ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%C4%81_y%C4%81_ayyoha-s-s%C4%81q%C4%AB
Come, O' wine-pourer! Circulate the cup and pass it to our lips;
since love seemed easy at first, but soon problems appeared.
2) Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980) https ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sohrab_Sepehri)
THE FOOTSTEPS OF WATER:
https: //sohrabsepehri.com/poems.asp?status=showpoem&language=e&poemid=99
Eyes need to be washed [urgently];
So another way of seeing can be found [desperately].
Infectious!
by Hafiz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch
I became infected with happiness tonight
as I wandered idly, singing in the starlight.
Now I'm wonderfully contagious—
so kiss me!
Far from the homeland, when lips part to speak,
This Persian candy works wonders, magic unique.
The spell of Rumi’s verse, of Hafez’ deep art,
In distant lands, it uplifts every heart.
A potion of love rides this caravan’s crest—
Saadi himself boasts of its charm manifest.
Open your eyes, and at this threshold stay—
The Masnavi begins to tell your tale today.
Yes, the key to the treasure of bliss is our tongue—
Rumi unlocks his vault where legends are sung.
The world is our homeland, in this unmatched place—
Our Persian speech bestows us with grace.
Honesty's the best policy.*
Tolerance is hypocrisy.
Does the peace of mind lie in this:
"To be in good terms with the friends
And tolerate the enemies"?†
Oh, no! It's but mere phoniness.
The lice of a frank, fatal foe
Are far nobler than a fake friend.
2.23.2024
Notes
* An English proverb
† Proverbial lines by Hafez
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