Hafezian Piety

That you're a pious prig by nature
Doesn't mean you have to blame
Libertines for their faults; those sins
Won't be imputed to your name.

Each of us will reap the seeds
He sows, so what is it to you
Whether I'm good or bad? To work on who
You are should be your aim.

Everyone searches for the Friend,
Whether they're drunk or stone-cold sober.
And love's in every house--the mosque
And synagogue are just the same.

I bow my head in worship on the bricks
That form the wine-shop's threshold;
And if that blockhead doesn't get it, then
It's him who is to blame!

Don't sadden me with tales of providence
And God's eternal promise--
What do you know of who, behind the veil,
Can boast of beauty's name?

It's not just me who's wandered out
Of lonely Piety's front door;
My father let his chance of heaven's grace
Elude him; I'm the same.

If this is who you are, the nature
You were given, then bravo!
And good for you if your fine character's
Exactly as you claim!

O Hafez, on the last day, if you bear
A wine-cup in your hand,
You'll go straight into heaven from the street
Of drunkenness and shame.

[Tr. Dick Davis].