Do Not Despair

Lost Joseph will return to Canaan's land again
--do not despair
His grieving father's house will fill with flowers again
--do not despair

O sorrow-stricken heart, your fortunes will revive,
Order will come to your distracted mind again
--do not despair

And if the heavens turn against us for two days
They turn, and will not stay forever in one place
--do not despair

Sweet singing bird, survive until the spring, and then
You'll tread on grass again, deep in the flowers' shade
--do not despair

Don't give up hope, you have no knowledge of Fate's lore;
Behind the veil who knows what hidden turns still wait?
--do not despair

When, if you long to tread the pilgrims' desert trail
To Mecca's distant shrine, sharp thorns beset your path
--do not despair

For God, who solves all sorrows, knows the sorrows of
Our absence and desire, the guardian's scornful rage
--do not despair

O heart, if nothingness should wash away the world,
Since Noah guides your craft, when you encounter storms
--do not despair

And though the journey's filled with dangers, and its goal
Is all unknown, there is no road that has no end
--do not despair

O Hafez, in night's darkness, alone, in poverty,
While the Qur'an remains to you, and murmured prayer
--do not despair

[Tr. Dick Davis]