From Canaan Joseph shall return, whose face
A little time was hidden: weep no more -
Oh, weep no more! in sorrow's dwelling-place
The roses yet shall spring from the bare floor!
And heart bowed down beneath a secret pain -
Oh stricken heart! joy shall return again,
Peace to the love-tossed brain - oh, weep no more!

Oh, weep no more! for once again Life's Spring
Shall throne her to the meadows green, and o'er
Her head the minstrel of the night shall fling
A canopy of rose leaves, score on score.
The secret of the world thou shalt not learn,
And yet behind the veil Love's fire may burn -
Weep'st thou? let hope return and weep no more!

Today may pass, tomorrow pass, before
The turning wheel give me my heart's desire;
Heaven's self shall change, and turn not evermore
The universal wheel of Fate in ire.
Oh Pilgrim nearing Mecca's holy fane,
The thorny maghilan wounds thee in vain,
The desert blooms again - oh, weep no more!

What though the river of mortality
Round the unstable house of Life doth roar,
Weep not, oh heart, Noah shall pilot thee,
And guide thine ark to the desired shore!
The goal lies far, and perilous is thy road,
Yet every path leads to that same abode
Where thou shalt drop thy load - oh, weep no more!

Mine enemies have persecuted me,
My love has turned and fled from out my door -
God counts our tears and knows our misery;
Ah, weep not! He has heard thy weeping sore.
And chained in poverty and plunged in night,
Oh Hafiz, take thy Koran and recite
Litanies infinite, and weep no more!

---Hafiz Shirazi---

Note: The poem above was written by the Persian poet, Hafiz in his, "Divan-i-Hafiz" which is a collection of his poems. It was translated by Gertrude Bell in the book, "Teachings Of Hafiz" and can also be found in, "A Treasury Of Asian Literature" edited by John Yohannan. divan = collection. maghilian = a thorny shrub which grows in the deserts of Arabia near Mecca.

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