The clear night sky tried to prepare me for what it knew would someday happen;
it began to show me ever deeper aspects of its splendor, and then one evening just directly asked, Will you be able to withstand your own magnificence?
I thought I was just hearing things, until a spring orchard I was passing my days with
at the height of its glory burst into song, about our – every human’s – destiny to burn with radiance.
Still I felt my ears were playing tricks on me until the morning came when love tore apart my chest… needing more room to bloom inside.
I began to roll through the streets in ecstasy. Everyone thought I was crazy.
I hope everyone someday knows how blessed I was.
You will.
Written by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, from A Year with Hafiz (2011).
