Learning from Hafez

What can I say. Life is "basteh beh moo-i" as Hafez says, ie. "tied to a thread" - and fragile. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and survivors of the earthquake that befell the  villages near Tabriz, in the Azarbaijan province, IRAN.

HAFEZ:

This Beyt/Couplet came to me. A friend had it read at the eulogy ceremony for her father. The grief, the "burning up" sensation the victims' families must be going through, must be harrowing.  Of course, the burning Hafez is experiencing can be for a myriad of reasons - before someone comes and posts something on this site like: "you're an idiot who didn't understand the poem" I did want to clarify that that's the beauty of Hafez, we can see what we feel in the moment in the poem.

I love the: "beh khoda miseparamat" part - and hope that the loved ones that are left behind feel assured that their departed loved ones are in good hands. That that thought might console what must be an inconsolable grief. I do believe in the power of collective prayer, too - no matter what the religion - and with this Blog, I wanted to honor the grief of those left behind.

RIP all the victims of Azarbaijan Earthquake, IRAN - August 2012.

ای غایت نظر به خدا می سپارمت

جانم بسوختی و به دل دوست دارمت

Ey ghayeb-eh nazar beh khoda miseparamat

Janam besoukhti o beh del doost daramat

My beloved, farewell -   in God's hands I leave you

My heart that you ravaged is the same one that wants to tell you: " I love you. "

PHOTOS: The photos are of a very magical place in Tabriz. I once received a post-card with an aerial view from this place and was like: "Wow - where is this?" The place is a Safavid Era park - the Shah Goli (now El-Goli) Park, in Tabriz.  Tabriz was the Safavid capital before the capital was moved to Isfahan. The palace you see is  a beautiful pavilion in the middle of the lake - and has been rebuilt, from what I understand, during the Qajar period. The aerial view shows how it is located afloat in the lake.  It's very magical.

Given that Earthquakes destroy, I wanted to include images of the standing beauty of Azarbaijan, in honor of the human spirit that too, cannot be destroyed. (2 of the photos are courtesy of  Payman Azimi.)

Afsaneh Mirfendereski