Sunday 22 January 2012

I am the slave of that perfect Moon....by Rumi

I am the slave of that perfect Moon !
Don't talk to me of suffering
I don't want to hear.

Talk about light, joy and sweetness
and if you can't, keep silent !

Last night Love found me shouting, mad
and beyond myself, and said:
"I am here,
why are you so worried and afraid ?"

O Love, I am overwhelmed with fear.
"Be silent, let me whisper a secret in your ear,
just nod your head and don't say a word."

Oh how delicate, how subtle is the path of love!
This most precious Moon-like beauty appeared to me!

My heart, is this the Moon or my imagination?
"Be silent, it is not for you to understand
don't you see, you have been blessed."

But what is this, the face of an angel or a man?
"Be silent, what you see is beyond angels or men."

But what is it, tell me, or I will go out of my mind.
"Do not torment yourself, leave this house of illusions
and say no more."

"O please", I begged,
"tell me, is this the face of God"
My heart nodded silently.

~ Rumi
Ghazal 2219,
from Rumi's Diwan-e Shames
Translated by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
"Rumi: Hidden Music"
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001

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