The Secrets of Our Heart (5/15/2022)

The Secrets of Our Heart (5/15/2022)

One cannot reflect our fire,

nor can one articulate the secrets of our heart.

 

Our early morning sighs are not confidants with whom we share our troubles,

nor is a friendly soul even to be found to hear those sighs.

 

We are not the pearl which has been found in the sea,

nor are we a sea which ever rests.

 

We are not the meaning which comes from words,

nor are we words which can be said.

 

Language is like a canal for meanings.

But, how could such a sea fit in this canal?

 

Every piece of the soul’s world makes a new world,

but such a new world could never fit in someone’s mouth.

Divan-i Kebir, Volume 19, ghazal 269, verses 2756-2761, page 121.

Like the Sun (5/1/2022

O cupbearer, take some of the weight off of the drunks.

It’s hard to see anyone of value

who isn’t being crushed by troubles and worries.

 

O rose-faced, cypress-statured Beauty,

come to the rose garden.

You won’t find anything which gives better shade than the cypress. Continue reading “Like the Sun (5/1/2022”

Try to See the Honey (3/13/2022)

Try to See the Honey (3/13/2022)

Don’t look at me as if I am a stranger.

I am close to you.

Try to see the honey and not just the bees.

Unless you are Satan, look for the meaning of Adam.

Don’t bother with his shape and size.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 375.

The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx. pub. 5/2022), Rubai 826, Volume 2.

This is the Time of War (1/16/2022)

This is the Time of War (1/16/2022)

Put on your arms. This is the time of war, O soul.

It is getting late. Don’t hesitate.

This world is nothing but a colorful show. Give it up, O soul.

There is a cat and mouse fight on every corner, O soul.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 362.

The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx .pub. 5/22), Rubai 792, volume 2.

Burn That Thing (12/19/2021)

Burn That Thing (12/19/2021)

O my Beloved, accept me. Take my soul.

Let me pass through both worlds.

If I settle down with anything other than You,

throw me into the fire and burn that thing.

Rubailer (2016), Rubai 3, page 353.

The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx. pub. 5/2022), Rubai 761, Volume 2)