One the Fire of the Heart blazes,
it burns the faithful as well as the unfaithful.
Once the Bird of Essence flies, all of existence disappears
The world is demolished.
The Soul plunges into the flood.
The same water which melts pearl into water
creates pearl again.
Hidden secrets become obvious.
The forms of the Earth are broken down.
Suddenly a gigantic wave comes, rising to the emerald sky.
At times that wave becomes paper and pen.
At times, it passes out.
The Soul becomes an enemy of good and bad
and keeps wounding those two every moment.
The Soul who reaches God enters the privacy of the Sultan.
If He was a snake, He becomes a fish,
escaping from the ground
to plunge into the Sea which merges with the River of Heaven.
While in space, He reaches the world of Absence.
He appears in that Universe.
No matter where he is dropped afterwards,
He smells musk and turns it into ambergris.
He is in poverty in Absence, but He is a guide to the stars.
He becomes dust at the door of Hakan,*
then knocks on the door of Sencer.**
A voice comes to the Heart
from the flame which burns the Sun, saying,
“Leave this Light alone,
so that the light of your Soul will be awakened
and illuminate the Universe.”
You serve the Beloved.
Why are you hiding You?
O Gold, after being hammered by that Goldsmith’s hand,
say, “This is better. It is better this way.”
The Heart which is drunk with the Wine of Eternity
passes beyond His self through the telling of this poem.
If He held His breath and remained silent,
He would do even better.
Hakan,* Head of the Khan.
Sencer.** Ruler of the Khorasan Seljuks, 1117-1157.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 1, Ghazal 53, verses 692-701, pages 132-133.