Bitter Grapes
O my soul, they found a way to make sugar out of sugarcane.
They learned how to weave silk from the matter of mulberry leaves.
Be patient.
Bitter grapes become halva with time.
*halva Sweetmeats.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #2, page 157.
There is a Way (1/5/20)
O confused heart, the way to the Beloved is through your soul.
O one who has lost his way, there is a road to the Beloved
which is both known and unknown.
Don’t worry if your way is blocked from all six directions.
There is a way right from the bottom of your heart.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #, page 109. #3
You are the Antidote…You are the Bait (7/28/19)
What is life without You?
Life without You is forbidden.
Living without Your beautiful face is nothing but death,
that thing which was given the name, “life.” Continue reading
What’s the Use of That? (12/2/18)
O player, play this music. Play this tune.
Alas for the ones who block the road!
Mercy especially for the one who waylays us on our road!
O player, you learned that other music from that other brigand,
because the student has the teacher’s accent. Continue reading
The Pearls in Their Hearts (7/8/18)
Now the tree branches are blooming fresh flowers.
When they lost all their leaves, they could still see the pearls in their hearts,
so they stayed standing up.
They didn’t lose hope. They didn’t break. They didn’t even bend.
Rubailer (2016), Page 211, Rubai #3
One Day… (6/3/18)
One day your heart will take you to the One who caught your heart.
One day your soul will take you to the Beloved.
Don’t let go of the skirt of your pain.
One day your pain will take you to the Remedy.
Rubailer, Page 474, Rubai #3
There Is Always a New Day (3/4/18)
I am Joseph of Canaan.
My face like the Moon is the witness to that,
although no one has asked for proof, for a witness from the Sun. Continue reading
Don’t Worry (1/28/18)
Once you become the friend of one whose heart is in God,
don’t pay attention to other people and their customs.
Your soul will fall in Love’s fire like your fate.
Don’t worry. Don’t run away.
Know this well: From now on, you won’t fit in anywhere.
Rubailer, Page 424, Rubai #2
It Will Stay With You (1/14/18)
The branch that is full of flowers today will grow lots of fruit tomorrow.
The falcon of desire will go on the hunt one day.
The image of the Beloved comes and goes now,
but the time will come when it stays with you.
Rubailer, Page 421, Rubai #2
Hear This Well (1/7/18)
If you are in love with Me, I will make you utterly confused.
Hear this well.
Don’t do too much, because in the end, I will destroy you.
Hear this well. Continue reading
That Makes the Garden Smile (1/31/17)
We are in a season that is as auspicious as the Beloved’s Union.
The candle of the soul wakes up when the body dies.
When lightning strikes, the clouds start crying.
That makes the garden smile.
Rubailer, Page 389, Rubai #4
There Is No Tomorrow (8/6/17)
My heart has been flying with Love since early dawn,
because the one who sets the trap has plans for me.
I wonder what kind of dream my heart saw last night
that I have such exuberance in my head. Continue reading
The Smoke and Saliva of Thought (1/22/17)
If Love has the desire to embrace and kiss someone,
who could resist, my friend, who could?
When the Sultan goes hunting, the place where He hunts smiles.
But, when the Sultan becomes the hunt, what can you say to that? Continue reading
Yes, that door will be opened in the end.
Yes, in the end, that silver-bodied charmer will appear, show his face. Continue reading
From Words to Ecstasy (11/6/16)
The secret of Truth cannot be understood by asking questions,
gathering information, or spending all of your wealth and belongings.
If you haven’t cried for fifty years with bloody tears, if you haven’t burned your heart out,
you will never find the way from words to ecstasy.
Rubailer, Page 267, Rubai #2
Come to Us from Us (2/28/16)
Unless your soul has been intimate with this door for a long time,
Unless your heart has been filled with the pain and sorrows of Love,
You will never find a road to us from your self.
You should give up your self and come to us from us.
Rubailer, Rubai #2, Page 163