Yousef e Gomgashteh/Lost Joseph

Published June 16, 2009 · Filed under farsi, hafez, persian, poetry

	يوسف گم گشته (حافظ)
كلبه‏ء احزان شود روزي گلستان غم مخور وين سر شوريده باز آيد به سامان غم مخور چتر گل در سركشي اي مرغ خوشخوان غم مخور دائما يكسان نباشد حال دوران غم مخور باشد اندر پرده بازيهاي پنهان غم مخور چون ترا نوح است كشتي‏بان ز طوفان غم مخور سر زنشها گر كند خار مغيلان غم‏ هيچ راهي نيست كانرا نيست پايان غم مخور جمله ميداند خداي حال گردان غم مخور تابود وردت دعا و درس قرآن غم مخور	يوسف گم گشته باز آيد به كنعان غم مخور اي دل غمديده حالت به شود دل بد مكن گر بهار عمر باشد باز بر تخت چمن دور گردون گر دو روزي بر مراد ما نرفت هان مشو نوميد چون واقف نئي از سر غيب اي دل ار سيل فنابنياد هستي بر كند در بيابان گر به شوق كعبه خواهي زد قدم گر چه منزل بس خطرناك است و مقصد بس بعيد حال ما در فرقت جانان و ابرام رقيب حافظا در كنج فقر و خلوت شبهاي تار

يوسف گم گشته (حافظ)

كلبه‏ء احزان شود روزي گلستان غم مخور
وين سر شوريده باز آيد به سامان غم مخور
چتر گل در سركشي اي مرغ خوشخوان غم مخور
دائما يكسان نباشد حال دوران غم مخور
باشد اندر پرده بازيهاي پنهان غم مخور
چون ترا نوح است كشتي‏بان ز طوفان غم مخور
سر زنشها گر كند خار مغيلان غم‏
هيچ راهي نيست كانرا نيست پايان غم مخور
جمله ميداند خداي حال گردان غم مخور
تابود وردت دعا و درس قرآن غم مخور

يوسف گم گشته باز آيد به كنعان غم مخور
اي دل غمديده حالت به شود دل بد مكن
گر بهار عمر باشد باز بر تخت چمن
دور گردون گر دو روزي بر مراد ما نرفت
هان مشو نوميد چون واقف نئي از سر غيب
اي دل ار سيل فنابنياد هستي بر كند
در بيابان گر به شوق كعبه خواهي زد قدم
گر چه منزل بس خطرناك است و مقصد بس بعيد
حال ما در فرقت جانان و ابرام رقيب
حافظا در كنج فقر و خلوت شبهاي تار

Lost Jospeh (Hafez)
Your lost Joseph will return to Canaan, do not grieve This house of sorrows will become a garden, do not grieve Oh grieving heart, you will mend do not despair This frenzied mind will return to calm, do not grieve When the spring of life again sets in the meadows A crown of flowers you will bear, singing bird, do not grieve If these turning epochs do not move with our will today The spheres of time are not constant, do not grieve Lose hope not, for awareness cannot perceive the concealed Behind the curtains hidden scenes play, do not grieve Oh heart, should a flood of destruction engulf the world If Noah is at your helm, do not grieve As you step through the desert in desire of Ka’aba The thorns may reproach you, do not grieve Home may be perilous and destination out of reach But there are no paths without an end, do not grieve Our state in separation from friends and with demands of foes The divine who turns circumstance knows all, do not grieve Hafez, in the corner of poverty and loneliness of dark nights Until your words echo prayers and lessons of Quran, do not grieve.

Lost Jospeh (Hafez)

Your lost Joseph will return to Canaan, do not grieve
This house of sorrows will become a garden, do not grieve

Oh grieving heart, you will mend do not despair
This frenzied mind will return to calm, do not grieve

When the spring of life again sets in the meadows
A crown of flowers you will bear, singing bird, do not grieve

If these turning epochs do not move with our will today
The spheres of time are not constant, do not grieve

Lose hope not, for awareness cannot perceive the concealed
Behind the curtains hidden scenes play, do not grieve

Oh heart, should a flood of destruction engulf the world
If Noah is at your helm, do not grieve

As you step through the desert in desire of Ka’aba
The thorns may reproach you, do not grieve

Home may be perilous and destination out of reach
But there are no paths without an end, do not grieve

Our state in separation from friends and with demands of foes
The divine who turns circumstance knows all, do not grieve

Hafez, in the corner of poverty and loneliness of dark nights
Until your words echo prayers and lessons of Quran, do not grieve.

*References used: Ganjoor collection of poetry & Dehkhoda’s Loghatnameh.
*Photo Source: AP Photo/Ben Curtis

*Note: I tried to make this translation verbatim and minimize interpretation, however Hafez poems are very challenging to ‘translate’ because (a) a large part of the meaning of his poems are carried implicitly in the rhyme and structure of the couplets (b) many of the words Hafez uses have a multitude of meanings for which there is no single English equivalent, so any translation is much more simplistic than the original poem.

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Marzieh Ghiasi

7 responses so far

aftaab
on 16 Jun 2009 at 8:05 am

wow, this is one of the most beautiful piece of writing and one of the most accurate translation of Hafez’s ghazals.You are such a talented writer!
Thank you for sharing your writings with us:)

Reply
Yousuf
on 21 Jun 2009 at 5:09 am

That was nice…

Reply
Neshani (Sohrab Sepehri) | Marzieh Ghiasi
on 28 Nov 2009 at 11:06 am

[...] I’ve written earlier about the challenge of translating old Persian poems where the meaning is carried in the form of [...]
Thomas
on 27 Jan 2011 at 12:56 pm

This is incredible. Thank you so much for your fantastic translation.

Reply
Mehran Banaei
on 15 Apr 2011 at 11:38 pm

This is my favourite piece of poetry, every time I read it; it charges me with hope and optimism. Well translated.

Reply
shelby92
on 10 Jun 2011 at 7:35 am

As I read the poet. It looks wonderful and full of meanings.

Reply
m
on 22 Jul 2011 at 12:35 pm

thanks for sharing this nice poem.

Reply