Excerpts from the poetry of
Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi

Translations by Kabir and Camille Helminski

 

You are Joy!

 

Oh my God, our intoxicated eyes

Have blurred our vision

Our burdens have been made heavy,

Forgive us.

 

You are hidden and yet

From east to west you have filled the world with Your radiance

Your Light is more magnificent

Than sunrise or sunset

And you are the inmost ground of consciousness

Revealing the secrets we hold.

 

You are an explosive force

causing our dammed up rivers to burst forth.

 

You whose essence is hidden

While Your gifts are manifest

You are like water

and we are like millstones

You are like wind and we are like dust;

The wind is hidden while the dust is plainly seen.

You are the invisible spring

and we are your lush garden

You are the spirit of life,

And we are like hand and foot;

Spirit causes the hand to close and open.

 

You are intelligence,

And we are your voice

Your intelligence causes this tongue to speak.

You are joy and we are laughter,

For we are the result

of the blessing of Your joy

All our movement is really

A continual profession of faith

Bearing witness to Your eternal power

Just as the powerful turning of the millstone

professes faith in the rivers existence.

 

Dust settles upon my head and upon my metaphors

For You are beyond anything we could ever think or say

And yet this servant cannot stop trying

to express Your beauty in every moment,

let my soul be Your carpet. 

Mathnawi V:3307-3319

 

Quatrains from The Pocket Rumi

Whoever has a particle of heart in her breast,

Will have a hard time living without Your love.

With the curling links of Your locks,

Anyone who remains sane is mad.   

  Quatrain 667

 

During the day I praised You, and I didn’t know.

At night I laid with You, and I didn’t know.

I had suspected that I was myself,

but I was entirely You, and I didn’t know.    

Quatrain 1242

 

I could reach great heights with Your love,

And with longing for You,

I would increase a hundredfold

People ask: “why are you circling him?”

Oh ignorance! I’m only circling myself.         

Quatrain 1138

 

 

You, You, You

Rumi Ghazel #37

Beloved, You are my cave.
You are the Fire of Love that consumes us.
The beloved is You; the cave is You.
Friend, protect us.

The Prophet Noah is You; Spirit is You,
The Conqueror and the Conquered.
This chest torn into pieces is You.
The one knocking at the door of the secret is me.

You are the light; You are the Celebration.
The Protection of those who are protected.
The bird over Mount Sinai is You.
The exhausted prey in its beak is me.

The drop is You; the Ocean is You.
The Gift and the Wrath are You.
The sugar is You; the poison is You.
Grant me no more pain.

The signs of the Sun are You.
The house of Mercury is You.
The path of hope is You.
Grant us the Way.

The Day is You; the Fasting is You.
The result of my begging is You.
Water is You; the ewer is You.
Give us the water this time.

The grain is You; the trap is You.
The wine bottle is You; the cup is You.
The cooked is You; the raw is You.
Don't leave us uncooked.

If this body becomes more refined,
The pathways inside the heart pump more freely.
Become our Path completely, so there will be
So much less for us to say.

Translated by Raha Azar and Kabir Helminski 

 

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