“Since I Became Captive” by Hafez Shirazi is a lyrical work of classical Persian poetry exploring love, longing, desire and the beautiful paradox of finding freedom through surrender to love. Presented here in English as part of Persian Poetry After Dark, Hafez’s timeless verse is reimagined through organic minimal house, Balearic and Persian downtempo, and ambient electronica. This English musical adaptation brings the romance, symbolism and mystical undertones of one of Persia’s greatest poets into a contemporary musical landscape for a new international audience.
- Genre: Organic Minimal House mixed with Balearic/Persian Downtempo & Ambient Electronica
- Music & Lyric Adaptation: Tony Zohari
- Language: English
- Poet: Khajeh Shams-od-Din Mohammad Hafez Shirazi
- Original Poem Language: Persian
- Themes: Iranian Poetry | Persian Poetry After Dark | In English
- Cover Image: Nadin Sh
Lyric: Since I Became Captive
Do not let your dark hair fly
Upon the wind…
Do not let your beauty wander,
Lest you leave me undone.
Do not let your dark hair fly,
Lest you leave me undone.
Do not build your throne of pride,
Lest you break what I have become.
Do not drink your wine with everyone,
Lest I drink my heart’s own blood.
Do not raise your head so high,
Lest my cries rise to the sky.
Do not curl your hair around me,
Lest I fall into your chains.
Do not twist those midnight tresses,
Lest you scatter me like rain.
Do not become a stranger, my love,
Lest I lose myself in you.
Do not carry the sorrows of others,
Lest you leave me sorrowful too.
Have mercy on this lonely heart,
Come and answer when I call.
For the day I became your captive,
Was the day I became free.
Lift your face and let it shine,
Free me from the rose’s spell.
Raise your form above the garden,
Let the cypress bid farewell.
Do not be the candle of every gathering,
You will burn us in your flame.
Do not remember every face,
Lest you forget my name.
Do not become the talk of every town,
Or I’ll disappear into the hills.
Do not stir such sweet madness,
Lest you make a Farhad of me.
Do not become a stranger, my love,
Lest I lose myself in you.
Do not carry the sorrows of others,
Lest you leave me sorrowful too.
Have mercy on this lonely heart,
Come and answer when I call.
For the day I became your captive,
Was the day I became free.
Have mercy on this poor one…
Come when I call.
Before my cry is buried
Beneath the dust of Asaf’s door…
Do not turn away from me,
Even when your love is cruel.
For since the day I became your captive,
I have belonged to no one.
Since the day I became your captive…
I have been free.
Your captive…
Your captive…
And free.
Since the day I became your captive…
I have been free.
Hafez Shirazi
Hafez Shirazi (c. 1315–1390) is one of the greatest voices of Persian poetry and one of the most influential lyric poets in Persian literature. Born and buried in Shiraz, he is best known for his ghazals—poems of love, longing, beauty, wine, freedom and spiritual awakening. His poetry often moves between the earthly and the mystical, using the language of desire to explore deeper questions of love, freedom and the human soul.
For centuries, Hafez has remained deeply present in Persian culture, with his Divan found in homes, memorised, recited and turned to for inspiration and guidance. His poetry is celebrated for its musical language, rich imagery and remarkable ability to hold seemingly opposite ideas together—love and pain, captivity and freedom, desire and transcendence.
“Since I Became Captive” is an English musical adaptation inspired by one of his most intimate and playful love poems, bringing Hafez’s timeless paradox of becoming free through surrender to love into a contemporary sound.
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