There is no cure for the loss of loved ones except reunion;
no eye-salve can brighten old Jacob's eyes, only the sight of you can.
Explanation: The 'old man of Canaan' is the prophet Jacob, who lost his sight grieving for Joseph and regained it only when reunited with him. 'Toutia' is a traditional eye remedy.
Original
شمارهٔ ۱
به غیر از وصل نبود چاره‌ای هجر عزیزان را
که چشم از توتیا روشن نگردد پیر کنعان را
The leader's open chest became a path for all the world's sorrows to enter his heart;
he can become like Khidr's road, guiding a whole caravan toward truth.
Explanation: Khidr is a guide figure in Persian and Islamic tradition, associated with leading travelers to hidden knowledge and the right way.
Original
شمارهٔ ۲
شکاف سینه رهبر شد به دل غم‌های عالم را
تواند جاده خضر راه گردد کاروانی را
Don't hide your face from me, I'd give my life for you; like the candle at dawn, all that's left in my astonished eyes is one last look, nothing more.
Explanation: The candle at dawn is about to burn out, just as the lover's gaze is about to fade; 'I'd give my life for you' renders the Persian devotion phrase 'saret gardam'.
Original
شمارهٔ ۳
رخ مپوش از من سرت گردم که چون شمع سحر
در بساط چشم حیرانم نگاهی بیش نیست
You sleep in comfort, and your heart has no idea
that this long night of separation has no dawn coming after it.
Explanation: The 'long night of separation' is a classic Persian image for the suffering of the parted lover, made worse here by the sense that morning, and relief, will never arrive.
Original
شمارهٔ ۶
تو که خفته‌ای به راحت دل تو خبر ندارد
که شب دراز هجران ز قفا سحر ندارد
The beloved is best when she finds joy in tormenting my heart,
when she ruins the Kaaba and builds up the temple of idols.
Explanation: The contrast of the Kaaba and the idol temple is a classic Persian image: love overturns piety and convention, prizing the heart's desire over the sacred.
Original
شمارهٔ ۷
دلبر آن به که به آزار دلم شاد کند
کعبه ویران کند و بتکده آباد کند
With all the eagerness I have for being captured, what bitter regret: the hunter left his ambush, and still we never fell into his snare.
Explanation: The 'hunter' and 'snare' are classic Persian images for the beloved who captivates the lover; here the speaker longs to be caught but misses even that chance.
Original
شمارهٔ ۱۰
به این ذوق گرفتاری که من دارم زهی حسرت
که صیاد از کمین رفت و نیفتادیم در دامش
What is my name? The dog at your doorstep.
The collar around my neck is a curl of your hair.
Explanation: Calling oneself the dog at the beloved's door is a classic image of devotion and surrender; the curl of hair as a collar marks willing captivity in love.
A whole city's eyes were lit by our burning;
we ground ourselves to ash and made that ash a precious kohl.
Explanation: Kohl (surma) is the dark powder used to line and brighten the eyes; here the poet's ash becomes the cosmetic that lights an entire city's sight, framing self-sacrifice as a source of beauty and worth.
Original
شمارهٔ ۱۴
چشم یک شهر شد از سوختن ما روشن
سرمه را قدر شکستیم ز خاکستر خویش
What a cry of pain: my fierce devotion won't let me do as Farhad did, carve an idol from stone just to comfort my heart.
Explanation: Farhad is the legendary lover of Persian tradition who carved through a mountain for love of Shirin. The 'idol of stone' stands for a mere substitute for the true beloved.
Original
شمارهٔ ۱۵
فریاد که غیرت نگذارد که چو فرهاد
از بهر تسلی بتی از سنگ برآریم
I praise that killer's pride: so many angels crowd around
his martyr's bier that no one can find room to pray over it.
Explanation: The martyr's holiness draws such a throng of angels to his funeral that the living cannot perform the prayer over his body, a hyperbole honoring both the slain and the beloved who slew him.
Original
شمارهٔ ۱۶
سر قاتلی بنازم که ز کثرت ملایک
به جنازهٔ شهیدش نتوان نماز کردن