Why are you sorry if you lose your profit, your capital?
Here I am. See My generosity?
Don’t fall into despair.
If the world disappears
and the sea becomes a drop of dew, who cares?
If it passes out and drops to the ground,
that doesn’t mean it has left My hand.
The world is a fish. Absence is an ocean.
There are so many fights in the heart of the fish.
But, I fish without a line.
Even if a fish disappears, I will still catch it.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 15, Ghazal 98, verses 1116-1118, page 221.
You cut me off like an umbilical cord in the name of drunkenness.
Even then, O Cupbearer, why did You leave me?
You create such Love with every breath.
O One who makes everything appear,
why are You not apparent? Continue reading “Focus Your Eyes on Absence (7/4/2021)”
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)”
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)”
Ascend to the sky from this banal world.
Your soul will be blessed if you do.
Walk nicely now.
Yes, you have jumped out from this town which is so full of sickness and shivering.
Now, make your home the land of happiness and joy.
If the painting of your body is destroyed, return to the Painter.
If your flesh is decayed, be content with being pure soul.
If your face is withered because of death,
settle down in the purple-colored tulip garden.
If they close the door of the house on you,
come up from the roof. Become your own ladder.
If you are separated from friends and relatives,
if you find yourself all alone,
become the King of the Auspicious Conjunction,*
acquainted with God’s friendship.
If you are separated from bread and water,
turn into the kind of bread
which gives power directly to hearts and souls.
*Refers to at least one Mughal king who claimed he was born under the auspicious conjunction of Jupiter and Venus.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 18, Ghazal 189, verses 18821-1887, page 148.
It comes to me that I am out of this world today.
It comes to me that today, I am hidden from my self.
I grabbed the knife and cut off my existence.
Now, I don’t belong to me or anyone else. Continue reading ““Yes, that is me.” (1/31/2021)”
I have traveled from town to town,
but I haven’t seen any city like the city of Love.
At the beginning, I didn’t appreciate the value of that city,
and because of my ignorance, I suffered much in exile. Continue reading “Scared (1/17/2021)”
Do you want to know about separation?
That is the road for lovers.
A fish’s life depends on the sea.
He desires the sea whenever he is separated from it.
People usually desire the sun,
although sometimes they do desire a shadow.
A soul is the particle which never desires a shadow.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai #4, page 131.
Your soul is so close to my soul
that I know whatever you think.
I have even better proof than this.
Come closer so I can show it to you. Continue reading “Come Closer So I Can Show It To You (11/29/2020)”
What kind of work bench do You have in that heart?
What idols are You carving in that heart?
Spring has come. It is seed time.
Who knows what You are sowing in that heart?
Outside, You are covered with curtains of secrecy.
But, You are wide open in the middle of that heart.
The person who searches gets his feet stuck in the mud.
But, You scratch his head in that heart.
If a heart were not bigger and greater than the skies,
You wouldn’t ride the Moon in that heart.
If a heart were not such a big city,
no Sultan could fit in, move around in that heart.
O my Soul, the heart is an amazing forest.
You are the master of hunting in that heart.
There are thousands of waves which move in the sea of heart.
You harvest pearls in that heart.
I have kept silent,
because even if one tries to describe its qualities,
no mind can comprehend the heart.
Divan-i Kebir, Volume 18, Ghazal 103, verses 1024-1032, pages 3-4.