Ghazal 342: The dust of my body is becoming the veil over the face of the soul

حجاب چهرهٔ جان می‌شود غبار تنم
خوشا دمی که از آن چهره پرده برفکنم

چنین قفس نه سزای چو من خوش‌الحانی‌ست
روم به گلشن رضوان، که مرغ آن چمنم

عیان نشد که چرا آمدم، کجا رفتم
دریغ و درد که غافل ز کار خویشتنم

چگونه طوف کنم در فضای عالم قدس؟
که در سراچهٔ ترکیب، تخته‌‌بند تنم

اگر ز خون دلم بوی شوق می‌آید
عجب مدار که هم‌درد نافهٔ ختنم

طراز پیرهن زرکشم مبین چون شمع
که سوزهاست نهانی درون پیرهنم

بیا و هستی حافظ ز پیش او بردار
که با وجود تو کس نشنود ز من که منم

The dust of my body is becoming the veil over the face of the soul;
happy the moment when I throw the covering from that face.

Such a cage is not fit for a sweet singer like me;
I will go to the rose garden of paradise, for I am a bird of that meadow.

It was never made clear why I came or where I went;
alas and sorrow, that I am heedless of my own affair.

How am I to circle in the open space of the holy world,
when in this small house of the elements I am nailed to the planks of the body?

If the scent of longing rises from the blood of my heart,
do not wonder, for I share the pain of the musk-pod of Khotan.

Do not look at the gold-threaded border of my shirt, like the candle's,
for there are burnings hidden inside the shirt.

Come, and take the being of Hafez away from before him,
for where you exist no one hears from me that I am.

Interpretation of the fal

You feel caught in a place too narrow for your ability and worth, and your heart longs to fly. Take this feeling seriously, and reflect on why you came and where you are going. Your fine appearance says nothing of the burning within. The greatest obstacle is yourself: put self-regard aside, and the way will open.