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 went to that exalted world

and saw that news with Your own eyes.

 

You left earth and water to the Earth and water.

Then, You took the substance of the soul

and pulled it to the sky.

 

You became tired of being around the body.

You preferred to go with the soul.

 

You freed Yourself from the mother womb

which is this world

and ran to the father of intelligence.

 

Drink the wine which sweetens the soul with every breath

in exchange for the suffering we gave You.

 

Since You left, the whole Universe has chosen us.

Now, take anything You choose.

 

You went from this Earth’s saucepan

to the table of the other world,

because You were cooked.

 

The egg became empty, without a bird,

because you got out of this Earth’s egg

and flew away.

 

From now on, You will never fit in this world.

Keep flying through it. You like to fly.

 

Be silent. Go away.

They opened Your lock.

Death matched You for the key.

Divan-i Kebir, Ghazal 230, verses 2350-2361, pages 52-53.

Because of My Longing (6/27/2021)

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. Nov. 2021), Rubai 430.

I was Amazed (6/13/2021)

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.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 326.

A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (November 2021), Rubai 692 (Volume 2)

From Existence to Nothingness (5/30/2021)

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), Rubai #2, page 318.

A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translation (pub. 11/2021), Rubai 673, vol. 2.

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 Rumi, The Ergin Translation (pub. 11/2021)

I Am Your Remedy (5/2/2021)

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 of Rumi/The Ergin Translation (Nov. 2021), Rubai 654

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.

I will get into that circle,

and once I get in, I will stay there forever.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai #1, page 302.