Assume I am a thorn, a bad one.
But, the thorn and rose go together.
When a jeweler weighs gold,
he puts barley as a weight on the other side of the scale. Continue reading “The Time of Union Has Come (10/6/2024)”
Poor heart, you are the mirror of everything.
God has favored you with beautiful attributes,
and you act like you don’t even see them.
Such rebellion can give you nothing but headaches.
O mirror which has accepted good as bad as it reflects on you,
you don’t even know what is reflected.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 447.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (pubsummer2024), Rubai 1133, Volume 3.
O heart, what kind of stories, what kind of adventures
are you looking for?
O heart, if you are looking for Me,
don’t you know that I am with you?
If you haven’t seen Me,
how can you look for the unknown, the unseen?
If you have seen Me, why are you still looking?
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 433.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, the Ergin Translations (pub.2024), Volume 3, Rubai 1100.
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.
O my Crescent of Eid,*
show Yourself, so that Eid sees the real Eid.
O my invisible moon-faced One, show Yourself.
Pull the ear of the moon.
O my existence, my Absence,
O my rage and my contentment, Continue reading “My Foundation, My Essence (4/2/2023)”
O one who has been check mated in the game of stars,
choose a horse. Ride toward the King.
Don’t bother with the vizier. Continue reading “Choose Fire (2/19/2023)”
O one who wants to experience the world and everything in it,
you are a day laborer.
O one who dreams of heaven, you are far from the Truth.
O one who enjoys both those worlds because of ignorance,
you haven’t tasted the pleasure of His sorrow.
You are excused, and you may leave.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 438.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub. 7/2023), Rubai 933, volume 3.
My wish is God. My disciple is God.
I give my old to God. I give my new to God.
I have been laid down
under the feet of fate and accident. Continue reading “His Comfort, His Torture (12/4/2022)”
What harm could a cross-eyed one do to beauty such as yours?
Should an insane lover be ashamed of having a bad reputation?
When riding the ambling horse on the way of Love,
who cares about some lame old donkey?
Rubailer (2016), rubai 3, page 418.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub. 7/2023), rubai 904, volume 2.
What are you looking for in the village of your illusions?
Why are you washing your eye with the blood of your heart?
All your being, head to toe, is God.
O ignorant one who doesn’t yet know Himself,
what are you looking for besides You?
Rubailer (2016), rubai 1, page 388.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.7/2023), rubai 890 (volume 2).