Burning in the Shadow of Your Gaze

Azar Bigdeli, an 18th-century Persian poet, is known for his lyrical and emotionally charged verses. His ghazals often explore the tension between love and loss, longing and surrender. In this poem, he portrays a heart set ablaze by a single glance—a love so powerful that it leaves the speaker in restless agony, torn between the desire to forget and the inability to let go. With imagery of sleepless nights, burning silence, and the haunting pull of the beloved, the poem captures the paradox of passionate love: sweet torment.

🌿 The moment your gaze touched my heart, I fell apart,

Since that first glance, I’ve burned in love’s dark art.

💫 I find no rest—neither in night nor in day,

Mad for the one who counts me not in any way.

✨ With each breath I take, your memory breaks through,

Like a candle, I melt—your absence burns me through.

🌙 I swore I’d tear your name from my soul, be free—

But found you are my life… and I, a fading sea.