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.

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)

That Brings Results (4/25/2021)

As Long As… (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. Continue reading “That Brings Results (4/25/2021)”

The Light Calling Out (1/3/2021)

The Light Calling Out (1/3/2021)

I don’t know how I became annihilated from that wine.

I don’t know where I am because of the beauty of placelessness.

 

Once I was at the bottom of the sea.

but then I rose like the sun. Continue reading “The Light Calling Out (1/3/2021)”

From the Breath of Love (12/13/2020)

From the Breath of Love (12/13/2020)

I come slowly like water under straw

and carry away the mountain as if it were a piece of straw.

 

I drip from the gutter, drop by drop.

But, like a flood, I pick up and carry away hundreds of palaces. Continue reading “From the Breath of Love (12/13/2020)”