Al Rumi

[J.Lee]

No joy have I found in two worlds apart from thee;

Beloved

Many wonders have I seen: I have not seen a wonder like thee:

They say that blazing fire is the infidel's portion:

I have seen none,...excluded from thy fire.

Often I have laid the spiritual ear at the window of the heart:

Of a sudden didst thou lavish grace upon they servant:

I saw no cause for it save they infinite kindness.

O' chosen Cup-bearer, O apple of mine eyes, the like of thee:

Ne'er appeared in Persia, nor in Arabia have I found it.

Pour out wine till I become a wanderer from myself;

For in selfhood and existence I have felt only fatigue.

O thou who art milk and sugar, O though who art sun and moon,

O thou who art mother and father, I have known no kin but thee.

O indestructible Love, O divine Minstrel,

Thou art both stay and refuge: a name equal to I have not found.

We are pieces of steel, and thy love is the magnet:

Thou art the source of all aspiration; in myself I have seen none.

Silence, O brother! Put learning and culture away;

Till thou namedst culture, I knew no culture but Thee.

 

Poet: Jalal Al-Din Al-Rumi