A celebration of Persian voices and talent

Ghazal 63 by Sanai Qaznavi, translated by Khashayar Mohammadi

Translation

Ghazal 63

by Sanai Qaznavi, translated by Khashayar Mohammadi
“In love there is no remedy for my heart / I try to be patient but the strength I have not”

Ghazal 63
by Sanai Qaznavi
Translated by Khashayar Mohammadi

my beloved! other than your love my heart desires not
I’ve made a vow and other than your companionship I desire not

today I am that lonesome lover with no confidante
I let out screams for help and for me a helper there is not

In love there is no remedy for my heart
I try to be patient but the strength I have not

I want to conspire with you in joy and mirth
but from heartbreak, my breath respires not

each night I privately sneak into your quarters
in the convoy of your love, the nightwatch I fear not

it seems you’re in love with another, leave, leave
it seems in your idolatry, torment of love suffices not

FEATURED IMAGE BY Khashayar Mohammadi

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sanai—or Hakim Abul-Majd Majdūd ibn Ādam Sanā’ī Ghaznavi—was born in 1080 and died sometime in the mid-twelfth century, having spent most of his life in Ghazna which is now modern-day Afghanistan. Said by many to be the first to compose qasida, ghazal, and masnavi poems in Persian, he’s especially known for his contemplations of God, mysticism, love, divinity and the human condition.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

Khashayar Mohammadi

Khashayar Mohammadi is a queer, Iranian-born, Toronto-based Poet, Writer, Translator and Photographer. He is the author of the poetry chapbooks Moe’s Skin by ZED press (2018), Dear Kestrel by knife | fork | book (2019) and Solitude is an Acrobatic Act by above/ground press (2020). His debut poetry collection Me, You, Then Snow is forthcoming with Gordon Hill Press.

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