School of Truth
O fool, do something,
so you won't just
stand there looking dumb.
If you are not traveling and on the road,
how can you call yourself a guide?
In the School of Truth,
one sits at the
feet of the Master of Love.
So listen, son,
so that one day you may
be an old father, too!
All this eating and sleeping
has made you
ignorant and fat;
By denying yourself food and sleep,
you
may still have a chance.
Know this:
If God should shine His
lovelight on your heart,
I promise you'll shine brighter than a
dozen suns.
And I say:
wash the tarnished copper of
your life from your hands;
To be Love's alchemist,
you should be
working with gold.
Don't sit there thinking;
go out and
immerse yourself in God's sea.
Having only one hair wet
with water will
not put knowledge in that head.
For those who see only God, their vision
Is pure, and not a doubt remains.
Even if our world is turned upside down
and blown over by the wind,
If you are doubtless,
you won't lose a
thing.
O Hafiz, if it is union with the Beloved
that you seek,
Be the dust at the Wise One's door, and
speak!
~Hafiz
Translated by Thomas Rain Crowe
