Feb 06 2026
Hafiz – The Garden
The Garden
by Hafiz
English version by Rober Bly
The garden is breathing out the air of Paradise today,
Toward me, a friend with a sweet nature, and this wine.
It’s all right for the beggar to brag that he is a King today.
His royal tent is a shadow thrown by a cloud; his throne room is a sown field.
This meadow is composing a tale of a spring day in May;
The serious man lets the future go and accepts the cash now.
Do you really believe your enemy will be faithful to you?
The candle the hermit lights goes out in the worldly church.
Make your soul strong then by feeding it the secret wine.
When we have turned to dust, this rotten world will press our dust into bricks.
My life is a black book. But don’t rebuke me too much.
No person can ever read the words written on his own forehead.
When Hafez’s coffin comes by, it’ll be all right to follow behind.
Although he is a captive of sin, he is on his way to the Garden.
— from The Soul is Here for its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures, Edited by Robert Bly
/ Image by Kylo /
How about something with a breath of spring today?
I know it’s easy to get swept up in the world’s dramas and suffering. And we should play a role in establishing a new sense of sanity and compassion. Most of us have a role on the world stage and we want that role to be that of healer, perhaps hero. But it is also important to remember that that role is what we do, not who we are. And we must remind ourselves that we take right action because it is right, not because it will necessarily win the day. So we do what we are called to do, we play our role, but the world goes its own way. Our well-being cannot be based on the world always showing us a smiling face.
Does that sound bleak? That depends on what we imagine the world to be. Most of us think the world is all there is, that it is reality itself. Not so. When we speak of the world, we are talking about the shared mental landscape in society — the human consensus reality. It is not what is actually real, just what most people silently agree to as the boundaries of possibility. Even when the world feels dark or thin on hope, what is actually real is vast, filled with life and possibility and… dare I say it? — Joy.
It is important for all of us, particularly at this time, to regularly step away from the world into the wider garden. We must breathe its air and replenish ourselves. We remind ourselves of what is really real and what is really possible beyond the false boundaries most people accept.
The world is a shared fantasy, not always a pleasant one. But the garden is alive and all around us, always whispering to us even when we dream.
The garden is breathing out the air of Paradise today…
Have a beautiful day!
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Hafiz
Iran/Persia (1320 – 1389) Timeline |
If you are looking for versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky, click here.
Dead link to Amazon for the book, “The SOul Is Here for Its Own Joy.”
I would never buy anything via Amazon/ FYI.
Sevgili Şiirli Dostlar,
Hafız Şirazi (1320-1390) iran, Fars edebiyatının güçlü şairidir.
İran tarihinde Şiirin Tanrısı adıyla da bilinir.
Hafız’ın Bahçe başlıklı şiirinin yayımı çok güzel olmuş.
Ivan Gregor’a çok teşekkür ederim.
Saygılar.
Günay Güner
gunayguner@gmail.com
Düzeltme
Sevgili Ivan, soyadınızı yanlış yazmışım.
Çok özür dilerim.
Sevgiler.
Günay Güner
Turkiye
Beautiful message, Ivan!
Just the right tone & pitch, imo.
Gracias!
Max in Walnut Creek, CA