^{translated from the Farsi by Haleh Liza Gafori}

Your laughter turns the world to paradise.
It tears through me like fire.
It teaches me.

Reborn in emptiness,
I emerge laughing,
here to learn from Love
new depths of laughter.

I’ve been short on courage,
but I have a heart of sunlight,
straight from the king’s hand.
I stir up laughter even in those who fear joy.

Crack open my shell. Steal the pearl.
I’ll still be laughing.
It’s the rookies who laugh only when they win.

Last night, the spirit of dawn came to my room
and gave me a lesson in laughter.
Our blazing roars lit the morning sky.

When I brood like a rain cloud,
laughter flashes through me.
It’s the habit of lightning to laugh through a storm.

Look at the furnace. Look at the stones.
See the glowing red veins?
Gold—laughing in fire, daring you,

“Prove you’re no fake!
Laugh even when you lose.”

We’re fodder for death so learn to laugh
from the angel of death.
He laughs at the jeweled belts and crowns of kings—
all that splendor’s just on loan.

Treetop blossoms erupt in laughter.
Petals rain down.

Laugh like the bud of a flower,
hugging the ground.
Its hidden smile opens to a laugh that lasts a lifetime.

^{translated from the Persian by Haleh Liza Gafori}

Go ahead, Lord, break our harp.
We have thousands upon thousands of harps.  

We’ve fallen into Love’s arms. 
We’re torn by Love’s claws.  
We’re carried by Love’s music. 
Who cares if we lose a harp or flute?

And if every instrument in the world burns to ash? 
No matter.  
The heart’s hidden instruments play on.

Their resonance—their rhythm and shimmer— 
rise up to the circling stars, 
whether or not ears are tuned to hear.  
   
Say every candle, every flickering lamp dies out.  
No reason to despair.  
Within us, we carry the flint and steel to spark a flame. 
   
Driftwood floats on waves. Music floats on air.   
Hidden in the depths of the ocean, pearls shine.
We hear their dazzling echo. 
Longing for union, melodies branch out   
to reach the root of all.

Close your mouth. 
Open the window in your heart. 
That’s how you hear spirits sing.  
That’s how you answer back. 

[!و بشکن چنگ ما را ای معل]

!و بشکن چنگ ما را ای معل
هزاران چنگ دیگر هست اینجا

چو ما در چنگ عشق اندر فتادیم
!چه کم آید بر ما چنگ و سرن؟

رباب و چنگ عالم گر بسوزد
!بسی چنگی که پنهانیست یار

ترنگ و تنتنش رفته به گردون
اگر چه ناید آن در گوش صما

چراغ و شمع عالم گر بمیرد
چه غم چون سنگ و آهن هست برجا

به روی بحر خاشاک است اغانی
نیاید گوهری بر روی دریا

ولیکن لطف خاشاک از گهر دان
که عکس عکس برق اوست بر ما

اغانی جمله فرع شوق وصلست
برابر نیست فرع و اصل اصلا

دهان بربند و بگشا روزن دل
از آن ره باش با ارواح گویا