How can you know the design of the Designer, the paint of the Painter? You are mere form and flesh. How could you possibly know Soul? (more…)
Not Like Your Halfway Happiness (10/3/2021)
We have neither silk garments nor silver, but we are happy. In trouble and fear, we are content. We are drunk on the wine of eternal submission. This is not like your halfway happiness. Rubailer (2016), Rubai 3, page 343 The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (approx. pub. 5/2022),...
This Heart (9/26/2021)
O One who takes the hearts of lovers as hostage, don't shed the blood of lovers.Go away. Look at the traces of blood on every road. Hear the bloody yells everywhere. (more…)
About Death (9/19/2021)
Your soul is a guest of your body for only a couple of days. Yet, you have become so attached to this Earth that you don’t want to listen when I talk about death. Your soul is longing for that mansion – that “death before death.”* Unfortunately, your body’s donkey...
This is Expected of You (9/12/2021)
The mind is a roadblock on the journey, O son. The road is wide open. Untie this bond. Tear it, O son. (more…)
Only God Knows (9/5/2021)
We keep turning like the sky in our longing for the Moon. Only God knows our business. Considering all the things which are happening in this world, we wonder how smart people can keep their minds in their heads. Yet, they wonder about our exuberance. Rubailer (2016), Rubai #1, page 335....
This Glory (8/29/2021)
O Beloved, we are Your guest tonight. Wait! Why did we say, "tonight?" We are Yours day and night, every day and every night. (more…)
The Treasure (8/22/2021)
We are the treasure of God's secrets. We are the endless ocean full of pearls. We are the space between the Moon and the fish. We are the One who sits on the throne of the Sultan. Rubailer (2016), Rubai #2, page 339. A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations...
See My Generosity? (8/15/2021)
Why are you sorry if you lose your profit, your capital? Here I am. See My generosity? Don't fall into despair. If the world disappears and the sea becomes a drop of dew, who cares? If it passes out and drops to the ground, that doesn't mean it has...
This Dog (8/8/2021)
I thought I could control the dog of my selfishness by putting on him the chain of repentance. Although he is getting tired and old, whenever he sees a carcass, he breaks the chain and attacks. What can I do with this dog? Rubailer (2016), Rubai #2, page 338. A...
Where You Used to Be (8/1/2021)
O heart, go. Go. Turn to blood like you used to be. Go to the valley and plain where you used to be. (more…)
Secrets Shaken Out with Thunder (7/25/2021)
I became exuberant when that pearl emerged in me. I was turned into a rough sea by that storm. I revealed the secrets of the ocean, secrets shaken out with thunder. Then, I slept on the shore like an empty cloud. Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 329. A Rubaiyat of...
Because You Were Cooked (7/18/2021)
O Beloved, You flew away from this narrow cage. You freed Yourself from this dungeon of robbers and pickpockets. You cleaned the dirt and dust from the surface of the mirror. You saw whatever was in that mirror. You had been hearing, here and there, some news. You...
Trying to Find Me (7/11/2021)
I stopped over at a tavern one day. There, I started to tear my patched-up body-cloak into pieces. While everyone else was busy with their own affairs, I was busy destroying my self, trying to find Me. Rubailer (2016), Rubai 3, page 326. A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations...
Focus Your Eyes on Absence (7/4/2021)
You cut me off like an umbilical cord in the name of drunkenness. Even then, O Cupbearer, why did You leave me? You create such Love with every breath. O One who makes everything appear, why are You not apparent? (more…)
Because of My Longing (6/27/2021)
Once this Love arrived, all other loves disappeared. Because of my longing for You, I was burned and turned into ashes. My ashes scattered and disappeared. Then, they came back, forming thousands of shapes again. Rubailer (2016), Rubai 3, page 220. A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translation, Volume 1 (pub....
Be Silent. I Will Read (6/20/2021)
If you fall in Love with me, I will make you utterly confused. Don't construct anything, because in the end, I will destroy you. (more…)
I was Amazed (6/13/2021)
When I was drinking wine in Your tavern one day, I ripped off this cloak of mine, this cloak made of clay. In Your now-ruined tavern, I saw the harmony in its workings and in the workings of the universe. There was such balance of creation and destruction. I was amazed....
Anger (6/6/2021)
All anger comes from pride. If you don't fall into contempt, go, purify in humility. Give up the self. Be dust. (more…)
From Existence to Nothingness (5/30/2021)
I have twisted and wriggled like a snake because of someone's charms. I have been curled up like the hair of the Beloved. By God, I don't know what kind of twist that is. All I know is that suffering annihilates me, carrying me from existence to Nothingness. Rubailer (2016),...
Your Only Dress can be the Light of the Heart (5/23/2021)
You are such a moon that You don't fit in the sky. You are such water that You cannot be contained in a river. You are such a pearl that You exceed the oceans. You are such a mountain that You cannot fit in any valley. (more…)
Empty Words (5/16/2021)
On the way to Love, each lover must either annihilate himself or give up his life in death. Some say, “Love’s goal is to drink water from the Fountain of Life.” These are just empty words, O lover, just empty words. Rubailer (2016), Rubai #3, page 226. A Rubaiyat of...
What a Crafty, Deceitful One (5/9/2021)
O Sun who rides the horse of the sky! O Beauty who uses deception to turn Himself into a star! Sometimes, You appear like the heart sitting in the middle of the house. At other times You come and sit in a corner. (more…)
I Am Your Remedy (5/2/2021)
Endure your pain quietly. I am your remedy. Don’t look at anyone except Me, because I am your true friend. Even if I kill you, don’t say, “I have been killed.” Instead, be grateful, because I am the compensation for your life. Rubailer (2016), Rubai #3, page 307 A Rubaiyat...
That Brings Results (4/25/2021)
The parrot came to the tree to share sugar's prayer. The rose asked the nightingale to read poetry. Receiving a revelation, the tall green cypress said, "As long as your soul stays in your body, put a belt on your waist. Serve day and night. That brings results. (more…)
Knocking (4/18/2021)
Today, I am on the outside of a circle, as if I am standing on the outside of a door. I have become friends with the door knocker, and I am holding onto it, knocking fearlessly. Once I become a true companion of vision, I will get through that door....
Glory after Glory (4/11/2021)
If He destroys hundreds like me, that causes no sorrow for Him. You fall in Love. He doesn't care. Your heart is broken. He has many others. He asks, "Why can't your eyes see the wine?" What can they do? They are always wet in front of Your sun....
Lighter Than Nothing (4/4/2021)
I am happy, but that happiness is not from the reed-flute. I am warm, but that warmth is not from any water or fire. Love has emptied me so much of my self that when I am measured on a scale, I am two batmans* lighter than Nothing. *An historical...
Walk Nicely Now (3/28/2021)
Ascend to the sky from this banal world. Your soul will be blessed if you do. Walk nicely now. Yes, you have jumped out from this town which is so full of sickness and shivering. Now, make your home the land of happiness and joy. If the painting...
When I Look (3/21/2021)
How long will I be satisfied by the shapes and appearances of time? How long will I watch and smell of existence? I am tired of the materials and creatures of the present. It is time to see that Beauty of Beauties. But, when I look at Him, I see...