Drunk On The Wine Of The Beloved

By Hafiz

There Is Nothing in This Well but Wind
I’m drunk again on the wine of love–Winebringer, bring more wine!
And fill up my cup, for without wine this party will be no fun.

My love won’t even penetrate that veil covering the Beloved’s face;
So Minstrel, give us a melody, and Winebringer, bring us some more wine!
To get in this place, I bent my body into the shape of a doorknocker, so
That the doorman wouldn’t send me away to another door.

Together, all of us here are hoping to see His face;
Together, all of us are waiting with our vain hopes, our vain fancies, and
our vain dreams.
Drunk from Your gaze, I lust for Your ruby lips.
I have been reduced to less than a question, which in the end is less than
my vain dreams.
Because no one can look directly at the sun,
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?

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