Ghazal 283: At dawn good news reached my ear from the voice of the unseen

سحر ز هاتف غیبم رسید مژده به گوش
که دور شاه‌شجاع است، می دلیر بنوش

شد آن که اهل نظر بر کناره می‌رفتند
هزار گونه سخن در دهان و لب خاموش

به صوت چنگ بگوییم آن حکایت‌ها
که از نهفتن آن دیگ سینه می‌زد جوش

شراب خانگی ترس محتسب‌خورده
به روی یار بنوشیم و بانگ نوشانوش

ز کوی میکده دوشش به دوش می‌بردند
امام شهر که سجاده می‌کشید به دوش

دلا! دلالت خیرت کنم به راه نجات
مکن به فسق مباهات و زهد هم مفروش

محل نور تجلی‌ست رای انور شاه
چو قرب او طلبی در صفای نیت کوش

به جز ثنای جلالش مساز ورد ضمیر
که هست گوش دلش محرم پیام سروش

رموز مصلحت ملک خسروان دانند
گدای گوشه‌نشینی تو حافظا مخروش

At dawn good news reached my ear from the voice of the unseen:
"It is the age of Shah Shuja; drink wine boldly."

Gone is the time when people of vision kept to the edges,
with a thousand kinds of words in their mouths and their lips silent.

To the sound of the harp we will tell those stories
which, kept hidden, set the cauldron of the breast boiling.

The home-made wine that lived in fear of the censor
we will drink to the face of the friend, with the cry "Drink, drink!"

Last night they were carrying him from the tavern street on their shoulders,
the imam of the city, who used to carry his prayer mat on his shoulder.

O heart, I will guide you rightly on the road to salvation:
do not boast of sin, and do not make a show of piety either.

The luminous judgement of the king is where the light of revelation falls;
if you seek to be near him, strive for purity of intention.

Make nothing but the praise of his majesty the litany of your mind,
for the ear of his heart is the confidant of the angel's message.

The secrets of what is good for the kingdom are known to kings;
you are a beggar sitting in a corner, Hafez: do not clamour.

Interpretation of the fal

The time of severity and silence is over and a more generous age has come: you may now say openly what you kept in your heart. But be moderate: neither boast of your faults nor parade your virtue. To come near to the great, purify your intention. In matters beyond your station, do not find fault.