Ghazal
200: For the love of God
translated by A.Z. Foreman
translated by A.Z. Foreman
Do you
hear the advice we're getting
from harps and lutes tonight?
from harps and lutes tonight?
"They're on an infidel-hunt. Don't
drink
unless you're out of sight."
They say:
don't speak or hear innuendo
about what lovers do.
about what lovers do.
It's a hard teaching, a harsh sentence
they're giving me and you.
They smear
the grace of lovers, strip
love of
its dignity.
They scorn the old and tell the young
such things should never be1.
Standing
outside, I was beguiled
by a
hundred wiles and tales.
I wish I knew just what goes on
behind closed doors and veils.
They tax
old Zoroastrian priests
and give
them grief. Have you
Seen what these novice punks are
willing
to put those old men through?
A single
glance can buy a hundred
honors for
one's appeal.
The fault lies with the fair who make us
take such an unfair deal.
Some
strive and struggle to be joined
unto the
Friend in love.
And others freely let Fate be
sent to them from above.
In sum: do
not count on the world
to have
consistency.
It is a workshop where all things
are changed up constantly.
Bring
wine! Qur'an-wonks, clerics, sheikhs,
inquisitors of God...
inquisitors of God...
Look close,
and you'll see all of them
are ministers
of fraud.
Notes:
1- The old and the young here would seem to be in reference to same-sex pederastic relationships between older men and adolescent boys of the sort familiar to westerners from Greco-Roman antiquity.
Per amor di Dio
Odi l’avviso che si ottiene
da arpe e liuti oggi?
“cacciano infedeli. Non bere
finchè non fuordivista.”
Non dire né udire innuendo
su opera degli amanti.
Dura lezione aspra sentenza
quella che ci si ingiunge.
Distorce la grazia, deruba
di dignità l’amore.
Il vecchio sprezzano, al giovane
dicono: mai, non si fa.
Pur stando fuori fui ingannato
da cento viltà e conti.
Vorrei sapere cosa accade
dietro le porte ed i veli.
Tassano preti zoroastriani
danno dolore. Visto
cosa vogliono questi nuovi
per sfinire gli anziani?
Un solo sguardo compra cento
onori per il piacere.
La colpa è di chi è bello: fa sì
che sia l’affare brutto.
Si strugga e lotti per unirsi
all’Amico in amore.
O libero lasci il destino
di mandarlo dall’alto.
Quindi non contare sul mondo
per aver consistenza.
Laboratorio dove tutto
costantemente evolve.
Qui il vino! Chierici, sceicchi,
di Dio inquisitori…
guarda bene e li trovi tutti
ministri della frode.
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here we are