See How the Roses Burn!

"The Size of the Love-Bruise" by Hafez (c. 1389), translated by Daniel Ladinsky (2011)

Like “See How the Roses Burn!”, “The Size of the Love Bruise” exemplifies the multi-faceted quality of Hafez’s poetry. Love—which, in this poem, bruises instead of burns—is a physical, intellectual, and spiritual force; it marks the neck, brain, and soul. The quality of Ladinsky’s translations is a subject of debate among people who can read Hafez’s works in Farsi; Hafez’s English translation history as a whole, in fact, has been fraught. However, respected scholars and translators note that Ladinsky’s rendition adequately captures the many interpretive levels at work in Hafez’s Sufi poetry.

"Ghazal 1" by Hafez (c. 1389), by eight different translators

This “Songs of Hafiz” website features the same poem—the first ghazal in the Divan of Hafez—as rendered into English by eight different translators. It showcases how different poets interpret the same text (the original Persian is included as the final version). Hafez’s lines change as the translators make important editorial decisions: To translate literally or dynamically (that is, to produce an exact translation of Hafez’s words or to reproduce the meaning behind them); to use (or not use) rhyme; to adopt a formal meter or free verse, etc. Some interpretations of Hafez are even musical. James R. Newell uses Hafez’s poetry as lyrics for his songs. Setting poetry to music was a common practice during Hafez’s life in Shiraz.

"What Was Told, That" by Rumi (c. 1273), translated by Coleman Barks (2002)

This poem by the most famous Sufi poet, Rumi (1207-1273), also uses roses as a symbolic device. The American poet Coleman Barks began publishing interpretations of Rumi’s poetry in the 1970s, making Rumi one of the best-selling poets in America to this day. “What Was Told, That” illustrates Sufi themes also present in Hafez’s works: Nature, people, intellectual concepts, and God feature prominently in this poem.

"Ask the Rose About the Rose" by Rumi (c. 1273), translated by Kabir Helminsky and Camille Helminsky (2005)

Here, Rumi discusses the distillation of a rose into an oil. The sensory image in the last lines of smelling the rose (or smelling the oil it produces) symbolizes seeking wisdom from a “sacred text” (Line 1). In Sufi thought, roses exist in the physical, sensory realm, but are linked with divinity too.