What is it that is attracting me to Him in every breath?
It is not ambergris. It is not musk.
It is His fragrance, His fragrance. Continue reading “From the Sun of Soul (5/21/2023)”
What is it that is attracting me to Him in every breath?
It is not ambergris. It is not musk.
It is His fragrance, His fragrance. Continue reading “From the Sun of Soul (5/21/2023)”
O moon-faced One,
how long will you stay away?
How long will you be wandering around?
It doesn’t matter if one is an idol or shaman;
we are all Your prey. Continue reading “Love is Only for the Small (5/7/2023)”
If all I have made are mistakes and You are my only right, that is enough for me.
You are the only meaning of my ruined, wrecked life.
At the time of my leaving this world,
if they ask me, “What did you do?”
I will answer, “You.” And, that is enough for me.
Rubaiyat (2016), Rubai 3, page 454.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub. fall 2023), Rubai 967, Volume 3.
When it comes to reaching the heart of the Beloved,
there is no room for patience.
Don’t talk about patience.
When Love rattles its chain,
the minds of Plato and Abul Hasan* become befuddled. Continue reading “When Love Rattles Its Chain (4/9/2023)”
O my heart-catching, life-taking Beauty
whose face is more beautiful than the moon,
since You have become my friend,
the light of my heart has burst out of my mouth flame after flame. Continue reading “Paradise (3/5/2023)”
A letter came for me from the other world.
It said, “Get ready for return.
Carry all your belongings to the sky.” Continue reading “I Will Be Free (2/5/2023)”
I came to grab you by the ear and drag you away.
I came to leave you without a heart, without a self.
I came to put you inside of My heart.
O rose sapling, I came to embrace you like a beautiful spring,
to scatter you here and there and everywhere.
I came to charm you in this palace,
to raise you above the sky like the prayers of lovers. Continue reading “I Won’t Leave You in the Middle of the Road (1/8/2023)”
The fragrance of the rose garden and orchard is coming.
The fragrance of that tender-hearted Beloved is coming.
My Beloved has scattered so many pearls
that the sea is now up to my waist. Continue reading “From Beyond Love (12/25/2022)”
My life has passed in the great sweet pain in my heart.
My heart isn’t concerned about that sorrow.
It simply recognizes and accepts it.
I was sitting, waiting, until I came to understand what my heart wanted.
Then, I started leaping with joy.
My heart had been running away from the circle of religion,
because his place is in the curls of Beauties.
I had been turning around the one who spins my heart.
He is the only one who can hear the yells
resulting from my heart’s struggles.
At night He took sleep away.
I waited until morning so I could see the heart’s face.
My body seemed destroyed,
as if it had dried up from bowing its head in prayer.
But then, I saw the height and stature of the heart.
That world is a spark of splendor from the heart’s sun.
This world is a drop from the sea of the heart.
Close your lips, because the yells and screams of my heart
are ascending to the sky without lips or tongue.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 9, Ghazal 74, verses 738-745, page 113.
O heart, you and His troubles are here.
This should be enough for you.
When you fall into the troubles of Love,
the soul becomes your slave and servant.
Once you drink a glass of wine from His hand,
you will no longer care about kingdoms and treasures,
even if the cost is a mere single penny.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 2, page 433.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.7/2023), Rubai 920, volume 2.