When I was drinking wine in Your tavern one day,
I ripped off this cloak of mine, this cloak made of clay.
In Your now-ruined tavern,
I saw the harmony in its workings
and in the workings of the universe.
There was such balance of creation and destruction.
I was amazed.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 326.
A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (November 2021), Rubai 692 (Volume 2)
All anger comes from pride.
If you don’t fall into contempt, go, purify in humility.
Give up the self. Be dust. Continue reading “Anger (6/6/2021)”
I have twisted and wriggled like a snake
because of someone’s charms.
I have been curled up like the hair of the Beloved.
By God, I don’t know what kind of twist that is.
All I know is that suffering annihilates me,
carrying me from existence to Nothingness.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #2, page 318.
A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translation (pub. 11/2021), Rubai 673, vol. 2.
You are such a moon that You don’t fit in the sky.
You are such water that You cannot be contained in a river.
You are such a pearl that You exceed the oceans.
You are such a mountain that You cannot fit in any valley. Continue reading “Your Only Dress can be the Light of the Heart (5/23/2021)”
On the way to Love, each lover must either annihilate himself
or give up his life in death.
Some say,
“Love’s goal is to drink water from the Fountain of Life.”
These are just empty words, O lover, just empty words.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #3, page 226.
A Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translation (pub. 11/2021)
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)”
Endure your pain quietly. I am your remedy.
Don’t look at anyone except Me,
because I am your true friend.
Even if I kill you, don’t say, “I have been killed.”
Instead, be grateful,
because I am the compensation for your life.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #3, page 307
A Rubaiyat of Rumi/The Ergin Translation (Nov. 2021), Rubai 654
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)”
Today, I am on the outside of a circle,
as if I am standing on the outside of a door.
I have become friends with the door knocker,
and I am holding onto it, knocking fearlessly.
Once I become a true companion of vision,
I will get through that door.
I will get into that circle,
and once I get in, I will stay there forever.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #1, page 302.
If He destroys hundreds like me, that causes no sorrow for Him.
You fall in Love. He doesn’t care.
Your heart is broken. He has many others.
He asks, “Why can’t your eyes see the wine?”
What can they do?
They are always wet in front of Your sun. Continue reading “Glory after Glory (4/11/2021)”