The one to whom the secret of Love appears
loses his being,
becomes annihilated in the Beloved.
Light a candle and put it in the sunshine.
Look how it becomes engulfed by sunlight.
The candle’s light is there, but, at the same time, it isn’t.
It still exists, even if you can’t see it.
This body’s fire is like that in the light of the soul.
The fire can’t be seen, but it is still there.
The river flows, cascades down to the sea.
But, when it becomes submerged there, it disappears.
As long as there is a quest, the searcher is deficient.
When the quest is ended,
the searcher becomes the commander-in-chief.
When the body without Love searches for a hat,
his head is nothing but a turban.
If he suddenly sees a rose-faced one,
that turban and that head turn into thorns for him.
The one who has these secrets in his head
will fall onto the road to Shamseddin.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 9, Ghazal 46, verses 462-471, page 74.