One whose heart is brought alive by love never dies;
our permanence is written in the ledger of the world.
هرگز نمیرد آن که دلش زنده شد به عشق
ثبت است بر جریدهٔ عالم دوام ماHergiz nemîred ân ki dileş zinde şod be-aşk
Sebt est ber cerîde-i âlem devâm-ı mâ
Hafez, Divan, ghazal 11 (Ganjoor numbering), 14th century.
Death comes to the body, so we know.
Hafez asks about another death.
All of us know someone
who walks, talks, does his work,
but whose inside fell silent long ago.
Coming alive happens inside too.
One day a face, a voice,
a word touches you.
That moment is written in a ledger.
No one sees the ledger's owner.
Still, the writing is not erased.