Like Moses, the copper of your existence
will become gold through His chemistry.
So, why do you worry? Continue reading “No Way to Escape (3/24/2024)”
Like Moses, the copper of your existence
will become gold through His chemistry.
So, why do you worry? Continue reading “No Way to Escape (3/24/2024)”
O One who reminded me last night,
reminded me of that moment of exuberance,
reminded me of the forgotten treasure!
How could I ever forget such a blessing?
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 1, page 424.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.2024), Volume 3, rubai 1090.
I felt the enemy’s nonsensical talk
down deep in my heart.
I learned what he was thinking about me. Continue reading “I am the One to be Blamed (2/25/2024)”
As Hodja is my witness,
I swear I will not make any vows again.
The glass of the vow is broken
as soon as I drink Love’s wine.
I swear to Your peerless beauty,
Your wine which defeats and ruins lions.
I won’t even get close to repentance.
I swear to Your sweet lips,
to Your heart which knows the secrets,
I am neither fond of this world
nor obliged to colors, to red and yellow.
I swear to Your sun-like face
and to the true value of Your words
that I am a thousand years
beyond the hot and cold of this world.
I swear to Your mind
which resembles a dark chestnut horse,
Your insignia which offers Soul,
that no one knows what kind of man I am
except You.
I swear to the blessedness of Your morning
and the uproar which comes after morning wine
that I will roll up the sky before I go.
O immortal Sultan, tell the cupbearer
that if someone comes to the assembly with a sour face,
he should serve him the sedimented wine of my sorrow.
That way, duality will disappear.
So will the difference between old and new.
Because at the sacred place of drinking,
I am separated from the crowd.
I am all by myself.
The cupbearer should offer so much wine
that that person becomes drunk, becomes a lover.
That way, he won’t be bothered
by either the echo of my voice or my cool reception.
When he becomes like that,
neither self nor envy will remain within him.
He will come to my playground pure and clean.
He will fly outside of time.
He will free himself from bait and trap.
He will turn himself into a witness
at this gambling place, without quarrel.
He will play with a clean heart like Venus.
He will submit himself to fate like dice,
saying neither, “I won,” nor “I lost.”
I will remain silent from now on.
I am neither nightingale nor parrot.
I am sugar.
I am a rose sapling.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 22, Ghazal 24, verses 216-228, pages 51-53.
You won’t taste ecstasy as long as you are sober.
You won’t know the soul if you stay in your body.
You will never reach the Truth
if you are not annihilated
like fire and water mixed together
on the way to the Beloved’s Love.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 450.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (ApprxPubSpring2024), Rubai 1083, Volume 3.
Lovers, keep working hard.
When you become free from the soul and flesh,
your heart will become free from the heavy burden of your body.
It will fly to the sky. Continue reading “The Real Sky (12/17/2023)”
Leave to others the endless job
of the improvement of this Earth.
This whole world
is worth less than a ruined caravanserai,*
less than a small coin,
less even than a grain of barley.
*A roadside inn along a caravan route.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 441.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (pubwinter2024), Rubai 1079, Volume 3.
O frowning Friend,
How much are You asking for vinegar?
You sell it as sugar when you trade with a sugar-lipped one.
You take sugar in exchange for your vinegar. Continue reading “Out of His Mind (11/19/2023)”
O my Cupbearer who adds souls to Soul,
for God’s sake, offer up a river’s full.
Pour that red wine into my drunken head. Continue reading “Open a Door for Me (10/22/2023)”
You spilled the Water of Life
in order to save water to wash your face.
You wasted sugar and honey
and put poison in your mouth. Continue reading “It is Not Worth It (8/27/2023)”