The mouth signifies the speech of the Beloved. This speech contains subtle truths and mysteries. Only a lover with a purified heart can understand them. Sometimes the Beloved’s words accord with the lover’s wishes. At other times, they challenge the lover’s thoughts and expectations.
The mouth guides the lover towards the truth. But it does so indirectly. It speaks through subtle allusions and hints. If the lover is refined and inwardly aware, he understands these allusions. He needs no further explanation. But sometimes the lover fails to understand the Beloved’s message. The Beloved then remains silent. This silence is not rejection. The lover is simply not yet ready to understand. The difficulty lies not in the message, but in the lover’s capacity to receive it. The Beloved waits until that capacity has developed.
And Hafez says:
Alas, the Beloved’s mouth – once the remedy for Hafez’s pain
Became tight-lipped when generosity was called for
دهان یار که درمان درد حافظ داشت
فغان که وقت مروّت چه تنگ حوصله بود
