The Rose and the Tavern

A Gift from Shiraz

Thank you for reading Hafez with us.

Some lines are worth keeping where you can see them.

Five pieces of wall art

A Persian garden pavilion at night: a full moon above the dome, lamplight in the arches, and a long pool reflecting it all.

A Persian Garden Pavilion, Kashan

The walled Persian garden, which gave the world the word paradise

O cupbearer, pass the cup around
and set it in my hand,
for love seemed easy at first,
but then the hardships fell.

Hafez · Ghazal 1 · Chapter 1

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JPG, 2,061 × 2,576 pixels, 0.8 MB — prints sharply up to 8 × 10 in (20 × 25 cm). Printing larger? Full-resolution print files

The columns and stone gateways of Persepolis at sunset, with mountains beyond.

Persepolis

The ancient ceremonial capital of the Persian kings, near Shiraz

Come: the palace of hope
stands on a crumbling foundation.
Bring wine, for the foundation of life
is built upon the wind.

Hafez · Ghazal 37 · Chapter 10

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JPG, 2,576 × 1,288 pixels, 0.6 MB — prints sharply up to 12 × 6 in (30 × 15 cm). Printing larger? Full-resolution print files

The tiled dome and arcades of Naqsh-e Jahan Square at dusk, mirrored in the long pool.

Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan

The great square whose name means “image of the world”

On this emerald arcade
they have written in gold:
“Nothing but the goodness of the generous
will remain.”

Hafez · Ghazal 179 · Chapter 23

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JPG, 2,061 × 2,576 pixels, 0.6 MB — prints sharply up to 8 × 10 in (20 × 25 cm). Printing larger? Full-resolution print files

A carved wooden lattice window opening on a green garden; its shadow falls across a white wall above a clay bowl and a sheet of paper.

A Poet’s Room in Shiraz

Hafez’s own city, imagined from within

Between the lover and the beloved
there is no barrier at all.
Hafez, you yourself are your own veil.
Rise from between.

Hafez · Ghazal 266 · Chapter 29

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JPG, 2,061 × 2,576 pixels, 1.4 MB — prints sharply up to 8 × 10 in (20 × 25 cm). Printing larger? Full-resolution print files

Morning light through stained glass scattering colour across the carpets and carved columns of the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque.

Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, Shiraz

The Pink Mosque, where morning light falls through coloured glass

Blessed is Shiraz,
and its matchless ways!
Lord, keep it safe
from every decline.

Hafez · Ghazal 279 · Chapter 33

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JPG, 2,061 × 2,576 pixels, 1.2 MB — prints sharply up to 8 × 10 in (20 × 25 cm). Printing larger? Full-resolution print files

A Reader’s Journal

The first page of A Reader’s Journal for The Rose and the Tavern

A Reader’s Journal for The Rose and the Tavern

Five plates of Persian art and verse, each opening eight pages — one for every ghazal in the book, with its Persian first line, a question, and room to write.

Download the journal (PDF)

PDF, 48 pages, 3.2 MB — prints on A4 or US Letter; the plates in colour, the writing pages in black.

Both gifts are free to download and print for your own home. There is nothing to buy, nothing to join, and no email to leave.
To hear the poems read aloud, visit the podcast.