"Do not despair, my soul"

Do not despair, my soul, for hope has manifested itself;
the hope of every soul has arrived from the unseen.

Do not despair, though Mary has gone from your hands,
for that light which drew Jesus to heaven has come.

Do not despair, my soul, in the darkness of this prison,
for that king who redeemed Joseph from prison has come.

Jacob has come forth from the veil of occlusion,
Joseph who rent Zulaikha's veil has come.

You who all through night to dawn have been crying "O Lord,"
mercy has heard that "O Lord" and has come.

O pain which has grown old, rejoice, for the cure has come;
O fastened lock, open, for the key has come.

You who have abstained fasting from the Table on high,
break your fast with joy, for the first day of the feast has come.

Keep silence, keep silence, for by virtue of the command "Be!"
that silence of bewilderment has augmented beyond all speech.

-- Ghazal (Ode) 631*, from Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi
Translation and footnote by A.J. Arberry
"Mystical Poems of Rumi," 1968

*This poem was evidently composed to mark the end of Ramadan.

The English and Persian media:

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"Do not despair, my soul"