I was the doorkeeper at the gate of my Beloved....by Rumi

All friends have vanished. 
Like fleeting thoughts they scattered 
and left me only with the thought 
of my Beloved. 

Now alone with every breath 
I call the only Friend of the forsaken.

I was taken by the stream of love
I tasted the fruit of love's tree,

surrounded with
such tenderness, such sweetness
I even had to chase the wasps away!

I was the doorkeeper
at the gate of my Beloved.

She left, and now, bewildered
I don't know which way to turn.

~ Rumi
(The Only Friend )
Ghazal 1596
Translation by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
"Rumi: Hidden Music"
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001
Art by  Laura Majcan

When the heart becomes whole...by Rumi

When the heart becomes whole, 
it will know the flavors of falsehood and truth. 

When Adam's greed for the forbidden fruit increased, 
it robbed his heart of health. 

Discernment flies
from one who is drunken with desire.

He who puts down that cup
lightens the inner eye,
and the secret is revealed.

~ Rumi
Mathnawi II: 2738-2743
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Daylight"
Threshold Books, 1994