The Murabbe Form

The al Mavlavi compilation of the  Dîvân-i Kebir

contains only six poems in the Murabbe form.

The murabbe developed out of the quatrain form. It is actually a series of quatrains, each one tied thematically. Each verse features the same final line.

Murrabe Poem 221

Dîvân-i Kebir, Volume 14, Pages 184- 186 

O Moon, when You are raised into the sky of the heart,

You will enter the body of the Earth like a soul

and bring it back to life.

O Moon, how beautiful you are.

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?

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We have proof of Your Love.

We have sugar from Your sugar lips.

Give alms from those sugar lips:

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?

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O Joseph of soul, You are in the hand of captors.

There is no one to match Your beauty, Your charm.

Look at us, because if You do,

You will recognize us.

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?

********

We are so drunk with Your wine

That we cannot find a trace of our self.

We can’t take it, but You still shine.

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?

********

I want to sit under Your tree

and harvest that soul-catching fruit.

I don’t want to see anything except Your face.

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?

********

Our soul becomes brighter when we drink Your wine.

Our ears hear better.

When we are out of ourselves, our mind comes into our head.

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?

********

Lovers are shining with Your fire.

They have given up right and wrong.

As for the direction of their prayers, they are like fire worshippers.

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?

********

O beautiful One of whom idols and idol worshippers are jealous,

O charmer who gives peace to the hearts of ruined, drunk lovers,

Don’t stay away from the ones who are on Your path.

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?

********

O Shams of Tabriz, You are a Sultan

in the land of Divinity which has no beginning and no end.

Everything from the Moon to the fish obeys Your rule.

O Moon, tell us, where are You from?