In this episode of Persian Poetry Caravan, we continue with Hafez Ghazal 14 — a deeply emotional poem about loneliness, distance, vulnerability, beauty, and the strange courage of following the heart.

The ghazal begins with a plea: “Have mercy on this stranger.” But the beloved answers with a harder truth — the one who follows the heart may lose the road. From there, Hafez turns exile into image after image: the stranger sleeping on thorns, the dark mole resting alone on the beloved’s face, the long night of separation, and the cry that rises at dawn.

By the final couplet, the poem opens into something larger. Even those who seem to know the path are left bewildered. Perhaps being lost is not always failure. Perhaps it is sometimes part of loving, searching, and becoming fully alive.

This episode includes a modern English poetic rendering of the ghazal, followed by a reflective explanation of its emotional, literary, and spiritual layers.

Explore The Rose and the Tavern: 40 Ghazals of Hafez in Modern English on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H41GXZCD

Watch Persian Poetry Caravan on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@PersianPoetryCaravan

Persian Poetry Caravan brings classical Persian poetry into modern English — with ongoing series on Hafez and Saadi.

In this episode of Persian Poetry Caravan, we continue with Hafez Ghazal 13 — a vivid morning poem of dawn, dew, wine, beauty, freedom, and the sudden shock of a closed tavern door.

Hafez begins beneath a canopy of cloud, with dew resting on the face of the tulip and a breeze from the meadow that feels as if it has travelled from paradise. The whole world seems ready for joy — and then the tavern door is shut. In that turning point, delight becomes urgency, and Hafez calls upon the Opener of all doors to open the winehouse once again.

This episode includes a modern English poetic rendering of the ghazal, followed by a reflective explanation of its literary, emotional, and spiritual layers.

Explore The Rose and the Tavern: 40 Ghazals of Hafez in Modern English on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H41GXZCD

Watch Persian Poetry Caravan on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@PersianPoetryCaravan

Persian Poetry Caravan brings the great voices of classical Persian poetry into modern English — with ongoing series on Hafez and Saadi.

Saadi’s counsel on just rule begins with a vivid image: the people are the roots, and the ruler is the tree. In this passage from the opening of Chapter One of the Bustan, Nushiravan speaks to his son Hormuz about justice, mercy, and the responsibility of power.

Listen to an English poetic rendering of Saadi’s counsel, followed by a brief reflection on the poem’s central image and its call to protect those most easily overlooked.

From Saadi’s Bustan, Chapter One, opening counsel to Hormuz. Presented in English by Persian Poetry Caravan — Persian Poems in English.

Follow Persian Poetry Caravan for more English readings and reflections on Saadi, Hafez, Rumi, Khayyam, and the great voices of Persian poetry