You are drunk

August 27 2009, 12:32:55 PM

 

 

YOU ARE DRUNK
and i'm intoxicated
again and again
i told you
drink less
a cup or two

i know in this city
no one is sober
one is worse than the other
one is frenzied and
the other gone mad

come on my friend
step into the tavern of ruins
taste the sweetness of life
in the company of another friend

here you'll see
at every corner
someone intoxicated
and the cup-bearer
makes her rounds

i went out of my house
a drunkard came to me
someone whose glance
uncovered a hundred
houses in paradise

rocking and rolling
he was a sail
with no anchor but
he was the envy of all those sober ones
remaining on the shore

where are you from i asked
he smiled in mockery and said
one half from the east
one half from the west
one half made of water and earth
one half made of heart and soul
one half staying at the shores and
one half nesting in a pearl

i begged
take me as your friend
i am your next of kin
he said i recognize no kin
among strangers
i left my belongings and
entered this tavern
i only have a chest
full of words
but can't utter
a single one

"RUMI, Fountain of Fire", ghazal number 2309,
translated 22 September 1991 by Nader Khalili,
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994.

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The blocked road

August 27 2009, 12:12:10 PM

 

The Blocked Road

I wish I knew what you wanted.
You block the road and won't give me rest.
You pull my lead-rope one way, then the other.
You act cold, my darling!
Do you hear what I say?

Will this night of talking ever end?
Why am I still embarrassed and timid
about you? You are thousands.
You are one.
Quiet, but most articulate.

Your name is Spring.
Your name is wine.
Your name is the nausea
that comes from wine!

You are my doubting
and the lightpoints
in my eyes.

You are every image, and yet
I'm homesick for you.

Can I get there?
Where the deer pounces on the lion,
where the one I'm after's
after me?

This drum and these words keep pounding!
Let them both smash through their coverings
into silence.

-- Version by Coleman Barks,
   from a translation by A.J. Arberry,
  "Like This", Maypop, 1990

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He said

August 24 2009, 2:02:40 AM

 

He said, "Who is at my door?"
I said, "Your humble servant."
He said, "What business do you have?"
I said, "To greet you, 0 Lord."
He said, "How long will you journey on?"
I said, "Until you stop me."
He said, "How long will you boil in the fire?"
I said, "Until I am pure.
"This is my oath of love.
For the sake of love
I gave up wealth and position."
He said, "You have pleaded your case
but you have no witness."
I said, "My tears are my witness;
the pallor of my face is my proof.'
He said, "Your witness has no credibility;
your eyes are too wet to see."
I said, "By the splendor of your justice
my eyes are clear and faultless."
He said, "What do you seek?"
I said, "To have you as my constant friend."
He said, "What do you want from me?"
I said, "Your abundant grace."
He said, "Who was your companion on the journey?
I said, "The thought of you, 0 King."
He said, "What called you here?"
I said, "The fragrance of your wine."
He said, "What brings you the most fulfillment? "
I said, "The company of the Emperor."
He said, "What do you find there?"
I said, "A hundred miracles."
He said, "Why is the palace deserted?"
I said, "They all fear the thief."
He said, "Who is the thief?"
I said, "The one who keeps me from -you.
He said, "Where is there safety?"
I said, "In service and renunciation. "
He said, "What is there to renounce?"
I said, "The hope of salvation."
He said, "Where is there calamity?"
I said, "In the presence of your love."
He said, "How do you benefit from this life?"
I said, "By keeping true to myself
Now it is time for silence.
If I told you about His true essence
You would fly from your self and be gone,
and neither door nor roof could hold you back!
 
Maulana Jallaluddin Rumi, may Allah sancitfy his soul & bless his secret

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Oh soul

August 24 2009, 1:59:22 AM

Oh soul,
you worry too much.
You say,
I make you feel dizzy.
Of a little headache then,
why do you worry?
You say, I am your moon-faced beauty.
Of the cycles of the moon and
passing of the years,
why do you worry?
You say, I am your source of passion,
I excite you.
Of playing into the Devils hand,
why do you worry?
Oh soul,
you worry too much.
Look at yourself,
what you have become.
You are now a field of sugar canes,
why show that sour face to me?
You say that I keep you warm inside.
Then why this cold sigh?
You have gone to the roof of heavens.
Of this world of dust,
why do you worry?
Oh soul,
you worry too much.
Your arms are heavy
with treasures of all kinds.
About poverty,
why do you worry?
You are Joseph,
beautiful, strong,
steadfast in your belief,
all of Egypt has become drunk
because of you.
Of those who are blind to your beauty,
and deaf to your songs,
why do you worry?
Oh soul,
you worry too much.
You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you worry?
You are in truth
the soul, of the soul, of the soul.
You are the security,
the shelter of the spirit of Lovers.
Oh the sultan of sultans,
of any other king,
why do you worry?
Be silent, like a fish,
and go into that pleasant sea.
You are in deep waters now,
of life's blazing fire.
Why do you worry?
 
Maulana Jallaluddin Rumi, may Allah sanctify his soul & bless his secret
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the prophet said,

August 24 2009, 1:55:57 AM
The Prophet said, “There are some who see me
By the same light in which I am seeing them.
Our natures are one.
            Without reference to any strands
Of lineage, without reference to texts or traditions,
We drink the life-water together.”
            Here’s a story
About that hidden mystery:
            The Chinese and the Greeks
Were arguing as to who were the better artists.
The king said,
            “We’ll settle this matter with a debate.”
The Chinese began talking,
But the Greeks wouldn’t say anything.
They left.
            The Chinese suggested then
That they each be given a room to work on
With their artistry, two rooms facing each other
And divided by a curtain.
            The Chinese asked the king
For a few hundred colors, all the variations,
And each morning they came to where
The dyes were kept and took them all.
The Greeks took no colors.
“They’re not part of our work.”
            They went to their room
And began cleaning and polishing the walls. All day
Every day they made those walls as pure and clear
As an open sky.
            There is a way that leads from all-colors
To colorlessness. Know that the magnificent variety
Of clouds and the weather comes from
The total simplicity of the sun and the moon.
The Chinese finished, and were so happy.
They beat the drums in the joy of completion.
The king entered their room,
Astonished by the gorgeous color and detail.
The Greeks then pulled the curtain dividing the rooms.
The Chinese figures and images shimmeringly reflected
On the clear Greek walls. They lived there,
Even more beautifully, and always
Changing in the light.
The Greek Art is the sufi way.
They don’t study books of philosophical thought.
They make their loving clearer and clearer.
No wantings, no anger. In that purity
They receive and reflect the images of every moment,
From here, from the stars, from the void.
They take them in
As though they were seeing
With the lighted clarity
That sees them.
 
Maulana Jallaluddin Rumi, may Allah sanctify his soul & bless his secret
'Essential Rumi', translated by Coleman Barks

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Come inside the fire

August 24 2009, 1:54:04 AM

come inside the fire
leave your trickery behind
go insane
go mad
burn like a candle-moth

first make yourself a stranger
to yourself and
tear down your house
then move with us
dwell in the abode of love

wash your chest
seven times over
cleansing from hatred
then mold yourself into the chalice
holding the pure wine of love

to understand the intoxicated
you must become intoxicated
to join the eternal soul
you must become a soul

you heard my story and
your spirit grew wings
now you must be annihilated in love
to become a fable of your own

your imagination my friend flies away
then pulls you as a follower
surpass the imagination and
like fate
arrive ahead of yourself

passion and desire
has locked your heart
you must become the key
the teeth of the key
to open all locks

King Solomon gives you a message
listen to the birds
they are talking to you
calling you a trap
frightening them away

to capture us they say
you must make a nest
you must make a nest

your sweetheart's face
is appearing now
change yourself to a mirror
and fill yourself to the brim

so many gifts
you purchased for your love
quit buying gifts
give yourself over

you were a part of the
mineral kingdom in the beginning
then you change to animal life for awhile
then you found the soul of a human for awhile
now the time has arrived
to become
the soul of souls

-- Translation by Nader Khalili. "Rumi, Fountain of Fire",
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994

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Last night

August 24 2009, 1:51:46 AM


Last night I pleaded with a star to intercede:
I said, 'My being is at the moon's service.'

Bowing, I added, 'Take this plea to the sun
Who makes rocks gold with his fire.'

Bearing the wounds on my breast, I cried,
'The Beloved, Whose drink is blood, must know!'

Like a child, I rocked my heart asleep
As a child does when its cradle sways.

Give my heart milk, stay its tears - you
Who help a hundred like me at every moment.

The heart's home is your city of union:
How long will you condemn mine to exile?

My head aches; there's nothing more I can say.
O cup-bearer, my troubled eye grows drunk!

-- Version by James Cowan, "Rumi's Divan of Shems of Tabriz,
Selected Odes", Element Books Limited 1997

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Whose idea was this,

August 24 2009, 1:49:39 AM

Whose idea was this,
to have the lover visible,
and the Beloved invisible!

So many people have died of their desiring
because of this. The lover cannot kiss
the lips he wants, so he bites himself!

Satisfaction is always two bow-shots away,
and yet something in the soul
prefers this unreachable Lover
to any one reachable.

This being locked-in,
is better than having the keys
to any consolation- house.

The Beloved's rejection is wanted more
than anyone else's acceptance.

World happiness is nothing.
Look for what Betami had, for what
Sanai and Attar wrote of.

A beautiful meal looks delicious.
Then one night passes, and the food passes
through you, becoming repellent filth.

Eat love-food.
Suckle the toe of a Lion,
as the baby
Abraham did in the cave.

But you should put away what you learned
as a foetus in your cave, that need for blood.

There is a tall tower that Love builds.
Live there in silence.

The One who knows all secrets
is here now, nearer
than your jugular vein.

-- Version by Coleman Barks,
   "Like This", Maypop, 1990

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Only through this

August 24 2009, 1:47:35 AM

ONLY THROUGH THIS

Abandon this world
That you may become King of all worlds.
Throw away your handful of sugar
That you may become a sugar field.

Leap like a flame through the sky.
Scatter the dark spirits
and become the pillar of heaven.

When Noah sails upon the flooding waters
you will be his ark.
When the Prophet ascends to heaven
you will be his ladder.
When Jesus walks among the weary souls
you will be his healing breath.
When Moses goes forth as a shepherd
you will be his staff.

A divine fire blazes within you.
Don't jump back like a coward.
Cook in the fire!
Bake like bread!
Soon you'll be the prize of every table,
the life-giving food of every soul.

Walk patiently through this troubled world
and you'll find a great treasure.
Even though your house is small, look within it –
you will find the secrets
of the unseen world.

I asked, "Why have I received only this?"
A voice replied,
"'Only this' will lead you to That!"

No more words from my mouth.
I didn't come here to wag my chin,
I came here to chew on sugar-cane.

-- Version by Jonathan Star,
   "Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved"
   Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997

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last night

August 23 2009, 1:43:21 AM


Last night I pleaded with a star to intercede:
I said, 'My being is at the moon's service.'

Bowing, I added, 'Take this plea to the sun
Who makes rocks gold with his fire.'

Bearing the wounds on my breast, I cried,
'The Beloved, Whose drink is blood, must know!'

Like a child, I rocked my heart asleep
As a child does when its cradle sways.

Give my heart milk, stay its tears - you
Who help a hundred like me at every moment.

The heart's home is your city of union:
How long will you condemn mine to exile?

My head aches; there's nothing more I can say.
O cup-bearer, my troubled eye grows drunk!

-- Version by James Cowan, "Rumi's Divan of Shems of Tabriz,
Selected Odes", Element Books Limited 1997

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