Is There a Remedy…? (4/16/2023)

Is There a Remedy…? (4/16/2023)

Is there a remedy for this pain?

Will I ever escape from my longing for You?

You said, “Plant the sapling of patience in your heart.

Do not lament and complain about being seized

by the torment of Love.”

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 260.

The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.Fall 2023), Rubai 526, Volume 2.

When Love Rattles Its Chain (4/9/2023)

When Love Rattles Its Chain (4/8/2023)

When it comes to reaching the heart of the Beloved,

there is no room for patience.

Don’t talk about patience.

 

When Love rattles its chain,

the minds of Plato and Abul Hasan* become befuddled. Continue reading “When Love Rattles Its Chain (4/9/2023)”

My Foundation, My Essence (4/2/2023)

O my Crescent of Eid,*

show Yourself, so that Eid sees the real Eid.

O my invisible moon-faced One, show Yourself.

Pull the ear of the moon.

 

O my existence, my Absence,

O my rage and my contentment, Continue reading “My Foundation, My Essence (4/2/2023)”

Endure (3/12/2023)

Endure (3/12/2023)

O heart, if you cannot endure the troubles of Love, go away.

If you don’t give up your life, you will never reach the Beloved.

If you haven’t been thrown, as Abraham was, into the fire,

you will never find, as Khidr* did, the Water of Life.

*Khidr  A legendary man who is said to have attained immortality by drinking from the Water of Life and who comes to help those in moments of extreme distress.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 449.

The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.Fall 2023), Rubai 959, Volume 3.

I Will Leave You There (1/15/2023)

I Will Leave You There (1/15/2023)

O one who is fond of wealth and possessions and deeds,

you get so excited by these things,

even though they come entirely from your imagination.

You become happy or sad over nothing.

I see that you are in the fire,

I will leave you there to cook and mature.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 431.

The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.7/2023), Rubai 929, Vol. 2.

I Won’t Leave You in the Middle of the Road (1/8/2023)

I Won’t Leave You in the Middle of the Road (1/8/2023)

I came to grab you by the ear and drag you away.
I came to leave you without a heart, without a self.
I came to put you inside of My heart.

O rose sapling, I came to embrace you like a beautiful spring,
to scatter you here and there and everywhere.

I came to charm you in this palace,
to raise you above the sky like the prayers of lovers. Continue reading “I Won’t Leave You in the Middle of the Road (1/8/2023)”

1/1/2023

In a group meeting with Hasan Shushud back in the 1970’s, Jonathan Boulting related that this was one of the bits of wisdom Shushud shared, with the caveat that his English might need some reconsideration: GRIEF: Our contract with Eternity. Mr. Shushud spoke often about our inborn nostalgia, our longing “to go home,” our separation from our Essence… the source of true grief. Nevit Ergin referred constantly in his translations of Rumi’s poetry to “His sorrow.” When some begin the practice of fasting, they are able to begin to taste that sorrow, and it is one of the greatest gifts. Our self doesn’t want to feel it, which is its impetus for surrounding itself with an infinite number of distractions. As for the contract, it might be more of a promise that we made and need to keep. As Rumi says, “The purpose of Existence is to reach Absence.”

This Should Be Enough for You (12/11/2022)

This Should Be Enough for You (12/11/2022)

O heart, you and His troubles are here.

This should be enough for you.

When you fall into the troubles of Love,

the soul becomes your slave and servant.

Once you drink a glass of wine from His hand,

you will no longer care about kingdoms and treasures,

even if the cost is a mere single penny.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 433.

The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.7/2023), Rubai 920, volume 2.

Sometimes (11/20/2022)

Sometimes (11/20/2022)

O heart, what did you find in all of your lootings,

in those pillagings where you spread out all of your belongings?

What did you find before you closed the door?

 

In this ruined building, you still keep making webs with your own saliva

in order to catch flies like the spider of greed. Continue reading “Sometimes (11/20/2022)”