O One who takes the hearts of lovers as hostage,
don’t shed the blood of lovers.Go away.
Look at the traces of blood on every road.
Hear the bloody yells everywhere. Continue reading “This Heart (9/26/2021)”
This Heart (9/26/2021)
Tag: Soul
About Death (9/19/2021)
Your soul is a guest of your body for only a couple of days.
Yet, you have become so attached to this Earth
that you don’t want to listen when I talk about death.
Your soul is longing for that mansion –
that “death before death.”*
Unfortunately, your body’s donkey
has fallen asleep in the middle of the road.
*Total destruction of the self before the death of the body.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 80.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (approx. pub. date 3/2022), Rubai 108, Volume 1.
This is Expected of You (9/12/2021)
The mind is a roadblock on the journey, O son.
The road is wide open.
Untie this bond. Tear it, O son. Continue reading “This is Expected of You (9/12/2021)”
The Treasure (8/22/2021)
We are the treasure of God’s secrets.
We are the endless ocean full of pearls.
We are the space between the Moon and the fish.
We are the One who sits on the throne of the Sultan.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #2, page 339.
A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (tent. pub. 12/2021)
Rubai #719, Volume 2.
See My Generosity? (8/15/2021)
Why are you sorry if you lose your profit, your capital?
Here I am. See My generosity?
Don’t fall into despair.
If the world disappears
and the sea becomes a drop of dew, who cares?
If it passes out and drops to the ground,
that doesn’t mean it has left My hand.
The world is a fish. Absence is an ocean.
There are so many fights in the heart of the fish.
But, I fish without a line.
Even if a fish disappears, I will still catch it.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 15, Ghazal 98, verses 1116-1118, page 221.
Focus Your Eyes on Absence (7/4/2021)
You cut me off like an umbilical cord in the name of drunkenness.
Even then, O Cupbearer, why did You leave me?
You create such Love with every breath.
O One who makes everything appear,
why are You not apparent? Continue reading “Focus Your Eyes on Absence (7/4/2021)”
What a Crafty, Deceitful One (5/9/2021)
O Sun who rides the horse of the sky!
O Beauty who uses deception to turn Himself into a star!
Sometimes, You appear like the heart sitting in the middle of the house.
At other times You come and sit in a corner. Continue reading “What a Crafty, Deceitful One (5/9/2021)”
That Brings Results (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)”
Walk Nicely Now (3/28/2021)
Ascend to the sky from this banal world.
Your soul will be blessed if you do.
Walk nicely now.
Yes, you have jumped out from this town which is so full of sickness and shivering.
Now, make your home the land of happiness and joy.
If the painting of your body is destroyed, return to the Painter.
If your flesh is decayed, be content with being pure soul.
If your face is withered because of death,
settle down in the purple-colored tulip garden.
If they close the door of the house on you,
come up from the roof. Become your own ladder.
If you are separated from friends and relatives,
if you find yourself all alone,
become the King of the Auspicious Conjunction,*
acquainted with God’s friendship.
If you are separated from bread and water,
turn into the kind of bread
which gives power directly to hearts and souls.
*Refers to at least one Mughal king who claimed he was born under the auspicious conjunction of Jupiter and Venus.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 18, Ghazal 189, verses 18821-1887, page 148.
“Yes, that is me.” (1/31/2021)
It comes to me that I am out of this world today.
It comes to me that today, I am hidden from my self.
I grabbed the knife and cut off my existence.
Now, I don’t belong to me or anyone else. Continue reading ““Yes, that is me.” (1/31/2021)”