XIV

Poems from the Divan of Hafiz, by Getrude Lowthian Bell, [1897], at sacred-texts.com

Stanza 1.—Hafiz wrote this poem upon the death of his son.

Stanza 3.—Rosenzweig, in his edition of the Divan, says that the allusion is to the dust and water which God kneaded into the body of Adam, and that, out of derision, Hafiz; calls the human body a house of joy.

The moon, according to Persian superstition, has a baneful influence upon human life.

Stanza 4.—Rosenzweig says that "I had not castled" means that Hafiz; had not taken the precaution of marrying his son, and so securing for himself grandchildren who would have been a consolation to him on their father's death. For that reason he had nothing more to lose, and was indifferent as to what his next move in the game should be.