Iamnotonetogiveupchaliceandcherub;
Theviceofficerknowsnottoexpectitoftenofme.WemightrecallherethatthewatchmanofmanyAlbapoems,likeJuliet’snurse,is
actuallyanauthorityfigureinleaguewiththelovers,protectingtheirtryst,though
heorsheissupposedtobepreventingsuchmischiefandvice.Sanā’ī’sexamplecon-
traststhepāsibān,asthefriendlyvoiceofthenight,withthemuezzin’sterminal
announcementofthedawn.
ThelineofḤāfiẓwhichevokesthechiefwatchmandoessowiththeArabicterm
forwatchman(‛asas).Itisneededherefortherhyme,ofcourse,butasithappens
thisghazalrepeatedlyevokestheArabictraditionsofthenasībandẓa‛n,thecamel
litterdepartingwiththeBeloved,whoishereexplicitlynamed‘Salmā’,acommon
beloved’snameintheArabicpoetictradition.AllofthisArabizingdoesnotquite
dovetail,however,soneatlywiththepoem’sspecificgeographicalcoordinatesin
Azerbayjan,attheAraxesRiver.Theopeningapostrophetotheeasterlymorning
breeze(ṣabā)suggeststhatthepoemshouldbeginatdawn,withamessagebearing
kissestothatfragrantspot(261:1):Ayṣabāgarbugdharībarsāḥil-irūd-iaras
būsazanbarkhāk-iānvādīumushkīnkunnafas.EasternBreeze!IfyoupassbythebanksoftheArasRiver
Kisstheearthofthatvalleyandperfumeyourbreathwithmusk.OtherconventionsoftheArabicnasībondisplayinthispoemincludetheadvice-
givers(nāsiḥān,line4),whoseearnestcounseltheloverignores,actuallyturning
theirsayings(qawl)intoArabicsongs(qawl),settothelovelymusicoftheRebec
(rabāb).WemighthererecallthatintheEuropeanAlba,thewatchmanwhostands
guardovertheloversisoftenamusician.^25
Inthelineafterwemeetthechiefwatchman,thepoetremindsusthatthebusi-
nessoflovemakingisquiteserious:‛ishqbāzīkār-ibāzīnīst(line6).‘Lovemakingisno
game’–itrequiresself-sacrifice.Butthoughthispoemplayswithconventions
relatedtotheAlbatheme,itdoesnotleadtoapartingatdawnandthereforecan-
notbeclassifiedasanAlba.Althoughwemaydiscernsomefragmentaryelementsof
theAlbatoposhere,theydonotnecessarilyalludedirectlytothetradition,since
thenightlytrystcanindeedoccuroutsideoftheframeworkofthedawn’searly
light,disruptingthenight’slatelove.
ThereisatleastoneghazalfromḤāfiẓthatseemstohavesomeofthetilesofthe
Albascene,albeitinasomewhatre-arrangedmosaic.Thisghazalmakesnoallusion
tothethreepoemsofSa‛dīandSanā’īwhichwehavebeendiscussing,butitdoes
havethefollowingelements:anopeninglinethatmaybesetatdawn,justaftera
messagehascomeonthebreezefromthebeloved,whohasinvariablytravelledfar
away,leavingtheloverbehind(98:1):
Ḥāfiẓ’sRomanticImageryandLanguageofLove 263