Mevlana - show me your face

show me your face
i crave
flowers and gardens
open your lips
i crave
the taste of honey
come out from
behind the clouds
i desire a sunny face
your voice echoed
saying “leave me alone”
i wish to hear your voice
again saying “leave me alone”
i swear this city without you
is a prison
i am dying to get out
to roam in deserts and mountains
i am tired of
flimsy friends and
submissive companions
i die to walk with the brave
am blue hearing
nagging voices and meek cries
i desire loud music
drunken parties and
wild dance
one hand holding
a cup of wine
one hand caressing your hair
then dancing in orbital circle
that is what i yearn for
i can sing better than any nightingale
but because of
this city’s freaks
i seal my lips
while my heart weeps
yesterday the wisest man
holding a lit lantern
in daylight
was searching around town saying
i am tired of
all these beasts and brutes
i seek
a true human
we have all looked
for one but
no one could be found
they said
yes he replied
but my search is
for the one
who cannot be found
[translated by N. Khalili - my favorite translator!]

Mevlana - What have you been drinking

rocking and rolling
what have you been drinking
please let me know
you must be drunk
going house to house
wandering from street to street
who have you been with
who have you kissed
who’s face have you been fondling
you are my soul
you are my life
i swear my life and love is yours
so tell me the truth
where is that fountainhead
the one you’ve been drinking from
don’t hide this secret
lead me to the source
fill my jug over and over again
last night i finally caught
your attention in the crowd
it was your image filling my dream
telling me to stop this wandering
stop this search for
good and evil
i said my dear prophet
give me some of
that you’ve drunk for ecstasy of life
if i let you drink you said
any of this burning flame
it will scorch your mouth and throat
your portion has been
given already by heaven
ask for more at your peril
i lamented and begged
i desire much more
please show me the source
i have no fear
to burn my mouth and throat
i’m ready to drink every flame and more

Mevlana - how long can I lament

how long
can i lament
with this depressed
heart and soul
how long
can i remain
a sad autumn
ever since my grief
has shed my leaves
the entire space
of my soul
is burning in agony
how long can i
hide the flames
wanting to rise
out of this fire
how long can one suffer
the pain of hatred
of another human
a friend behaving like an enemy
with a broken heart
how much more
can i take the message
from body to soul
i believe in love
i swear by love
believe me my love
how long
like a prisoner of grief
can i beg for mercy
you know i’m not
a piece of rock or steel
but hearing my story
even water will become
as tense as a stone
if i can only recount
the story of my life
right out of my body
flames will grow

Mevlana - Lover whispers to my ear

Lover whispers to my ear,
“Better to be a prey than a hunter.
Make yourself My fool.
Stop trying to be the sun and become a speck!
Dwell at My door and be homeless.
Don’t pretend to be a candle, be a moth,
so you may taste the savor of Life
and know the power hidden in serving.”

Mevlana - Once a beloved asked her lover, "Friend

Once a beloved asked her lover, "Friend
You have seen many places in the world!
Now - which of all these cities was the best?
He said “The city where my sweetheart lives!”

Mevlana - through love all that is bitter will be sweet

Through LOVE all that is bitter will sweet
Through Love all that is copper will be gold.
Through Love all dregs will turn to purest wine
Through Love all pain will turn to medicine.
Through Love the dead will all become alive.
Through Love the king will turn into a slave!

Mevlana - That moon, which the sky ne'er saw even in dreams, has returned

That moon, which the sky ne'er saw even in dreams, has returned
And brought a fire no water can quench.
See the body's house, and see my soul,
This made drunken and that desolate by the cup of his love.
When the host of the tavern became my heart-mate,
My blood turned to wine and my heart to kabab.
When the eye is filled with thought of him, a voice arrives
W ell done, O flagon, and bravo, wine!
Love’s fingers tear up, root and stem,
Every house where sunbeams fall from love.
When my heart saw love’s sea, of a sudden
It left me and leaped in, crying, "Find me"
The face of Shamsi Din, Tabriz’s glory, is the sun
In whose track the cloud-like hearts are moving.

Mevlana - Turn me like a waterwheel turning a millstone

Turn me like a waterwheel turning a millstone.
Plenty of water, a Living River.
Keep me in one place and scatter the love.
Leaf-moves in wind, straw drawn toward amber,
all parts of the world are in love,
but they do not tell their secrets. Cows grazing
on a sacramental table, ants whispering in Solomon’s ear.
Mountains mumbling an echo. Sky, calm.
If the sun were not in love, he would have no brightness,
the side of the hill no grass on it.
The ocean would come to rest somewhere.
Be a lover as they are, that you come to know
you Beloved. Be faithful that you may know
Faith. The other parts of the universe did not accept
the next responsibility of love as you can.

They were afraid they might make a mistake
with it, the inspired knowing
that springs from being in love

Mevlana - Sometimes I wonder, sweetest love, if you

Sometimes I wonder, sweetest love, if you
Were a mere dream in along winter night,
A dream of spring-days, and of golden light
Which sheds its rays upon a frozen heart;
A dream of wine that fills the drunken eye.
And so I wonder, sweetest love, if I
Should drink this ruby wine, or rather weep;
Each tear a bezel with your face engraved,
A rosary to memorize your name…
There are so many ways to call you back-
Yes, even if you only were a dream.
[Mevlana's last letter to Shams]

**Mevlana - In the early dawn of happiness

In the early dawn of happiness
you gave me three kisses
so that I would wake up
to this moment of love
I tried to remember in my heart
what I’d dreamt about
during the night
before I became aware
of this moving
of life
I found my dreams
but the moon took me away
It lifted me up to the firmament
and suspended me there
I saw how my heart had fallen
on your path
singing a song
Between my love and my heart
things were happening which
slowly slowly
made me recall everything
You amuse me with your touch
although I can’t see your hands.
You have kissed me with tenderness
although I haven’t seen your lips
You are hidden from me.
But it is you who keeps me alive
Perhaps the time will come
when you will tire of kisses
I shall be happy
even for insults from you
I only ask that you
keep some attention on me.

Mevlana - Last night, I was lying on the rooftop

Last night,
I was lying on the rooftop,
thinking of you.
I saw a special Star,
and summoned her to take you a message.
I prostrated myself to the Star
and asked her to take my prostration
to that Sun of Tabriz.
So that with his light, he can turn
my dark stones into gold.
I opened my chest and showed her my scars,
I told her to bring me news
of my bloodthirsty Lover.
As I waited,
I paced back and forth,
until the child of my heart became quiet.
The child slept, as if I were rocking his cradle.
Oh Beloved, give milk to the infant of the heart,
and don’t hold us from our turning.
You have cared for hundreds,
don’t let it stop with me now.
At the end, the town of unity is the place for the heart.
Why do you keep this bewildered heart
in the town of dissolution?

I have gone speechless, but to rid myself
of this dry mood,
oh Saaqhi, pass the narcissus of the wine.

** Mevlana - Oh Beloved, take me

Oh Beloved,
take me.
Liberate my soul.
Fill me with your love and
release me from the two worlds.
If I set my heart on anything but you
let fire burn me from inside.
Oh Beloved,
take away what I want.
Take away what I do.
Take away what I need.
Take away everything
that takes me from you.

Mevlana - Should Love's heart rejoice unless I burn?

Should Love’s heart rejoice unless I burn?
For my heart is Love’s dwelling.
If You will burn Your house, burn it, Love!
Who will say, ‘It’s not allowed’?
Burn this house thoroughly!
The lover’s house improves with fire.
From now on I will make burning my aim,
From now on I will make burning my aim,
for I am like the candle: burning only makes me brighter.
Abandon sleep tonight; traverse fro one night
the region of the sleepless.
Look upon these lovers who have become distraught
and like moths have died in union with the One Beloved.
Look upon this ship of the beloved's creatures
and see how it is sunk in Love.
Mathnawi VI, 617-623

Mevlana - The lover's good is the love of the bread

The lover’s food is the love of the bread;
no bread need be at hand:
no one who is sincere in his love is a slave to existence.
Lovers have nothing to do with with with existence;
lovers have the interest without the capital.
Without wings they fly around the world;
without hands they carry the polo ball off the field.
That dervish who caught the scent of Reality
used to weave basket even though his hand had been cut off.
Lover have pitched their tents in nonexistence:
they are of one quality and one essence, as nonexistence is.
Mathnawi III, 3020-3024

Mevlana - Stay close, my heart , to the one who knows your ways

Stay close, my heart, to the one who knows your ways;
Come into the shade of the tree that allays has fresh flowers.
Don’t stroll idly through the bazaar of the perfume-markers:
Stay in the shop of the sugar-seller.
If you don’t find true balance, anyone can deceive you;
Anyone can trick out of a thing of straw,
And make you take it for gold
Don’t squat with a bowl before every boiling pot;
In each pot on the fire you find very different things.
Not all sugarcanes have sugar, not all abysses a peak;
Not all eyes possess vision, not every sea is full of pearls.
O nightingale, with your voice of dark honey! Go on lamenting!
Only your drunken ecstasy can pierce the rock’s hard heart!
Surrender yourself, and if you cannot be welcomes by the Friend,
Know that you are rebelling inwardly like a thread
That doesn’t want to go through the needle’s eye!
The awakened heart is a lamp; protect it by the him of your robe!
Hurry and get out of this wind, for the weather is bad.
And when you’ve left this storm, you will come to a fountain;
You’ll find a Friend there who will always nourish your soul.
And with your soul always green, you’ll grow into a tall tree
Flowering always with sweet light-fruit, whose growth is interior.

Mevlana - The beauty of the heart

The beauty of the heart
is the lasting beauty:
its lips give to drink
of the water of life.

Truly it is the water,
that which pours,
and the one who drinks.

All three become one when
your talisman is shattered.

That oneness you can't know
by reasoning.

Mevlana - Ah, what was there in that light-giving candle

Ah, what was there in that light-giving candle that it set fire to the heart, and snatched the heart away?
You who have set fire to my heart, I am consumed, O friend; come quickly, quickly!
The form of the heart is not a created form, for the beauty of God manifested itself from the cheek of the heart.
I have no succour save in his sugar, I have no profit save in his lip.
Remember him who one dawn released this heart of mine from the chain of your tress.
My soul, the first time I saw you my soul heard something from your soul.
When my heart drank water from your fountain it drowned in you, and the torrent snatched me away.

Rabia - My joy

My joy
My Hunger
My Shelte
My Friend
My Food for the journey
My journey's End
You are my breath,
My hope,
My companion,
My craving,
My abundant wealth.
Without You - my Life, my Love
I would never have wandered across these endless countries.
You have poured out so much grace for me,
Done me so many favors, given me so many gifts
I look everywhere for Your love
Then suddenly I am filled with it.
O Captain of my Heart
Radiant Eye of Yearning in my breast,
I will never be free from You
As long as I live.
Be satisfied with me, Love,
And I am satisfied.

Nazrul Islam - O, my love

O, my love
Come silently in the middle of the night
As gliding moonlight

With your tender touch
Bring sweet dreams to my eyes

O, my love, never again
I will need to open the door,
Come quietly through the door of my heart
Be there forever in my sweet memory

Come as the fragrance of un-blossomed flowers
Swaying in the evening breeze
Sing out my name over and over again
Like love-stricken evening bird in the wilderness

Come as tear drops in my eyes
Whisper in my ears like soothing tune of flute
Come as my lost love
O my ever lost love
Be there as eternal pain in my heart.

Arabi - While the sun's eye rules my sight

While the sun's eye rules my sight,
love sits as sultan in my soul.
His army has made camp in my heart --
passion and yearning, affliction and grief.
When his camp took possession of me
I cried out as the flame of desire
burned in my entrails.
Love stole my sleep, love has bewildered me,
love kills me unjustly, and I am helpless,
love has burdened me with more than I can bear
so that I bequeath him a soul and no body.

Tagore - A moment's indulgence

A Moments Indulgence

I ask for a moment's indulgence to sit by thy side. The works
that I have in hand I will finish afterwards.

Away from the sight of thy face my heart knows no rest nor respite,
and my work becomes an endless toil in a shoreless sea of toil.

Today the summer has come at my window with its sighs and murmurs; and
the bees are plying their minstrelsy at the court of the flowering grove.

Now it is time to sit quite, face to face with thee, and to sing
dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure.

Rabindranath Tagore

Qawwalis - What a glow everywhere I see

What a glow everywhere I see, Oh mother, what a glow;
I’ve found the beloved, yes I found him,
In my courtyard;
I have found my pir Nizamuddin Aulia.
I roamed around the entire world,
looking for an ideal beloved;
And finally this face has enchanted my heart.
The whole world has been opened for me,
Never seen a glow like this before.
Whenever I see now, he is with me,
Oh beloved, please dye me in yourself;
Dye me in the colour of the spring, beloved;
What a glow, Oh, what a glow.

Khusrau - Rejoice, my love, rejoice

Aaj basant manaalay suhaagun,
Aaj basant manaalay;
Anjan manjan kar piya mori,
Lambay neher lagaaye;
Tu kya sovay neend ki maasi,
So jaagay teray bhaag, suhaagun,
Aaj basant manalay…..;
Oonchi naar kay oonchay chitvan,
Ayso diyo hai banaaye;
Shaah-e Amir tohay dekhan ko,
Nainon say naina milaaye,
Suhaagun, aaj basant manaalay.

Rejoice, my love, rejoice,
Its spring here, rejoice.
Bring out your lotions and toiletries,
And decorate your long hair.
Oh, you’re still enjoying your sleep, wake-up.
Even your destiny has woken up,
Its spring here, rejoice.
You snobbish lady with arrogant looks,
The King Amir is here to see you;
Let your eyes meet his,
Oh my love, rejoice;
Its spring here again.

Khusrau - You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.

Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Prem bhatee ka madhva pilaikay
Matvali kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Gori gori bayyan, hari hari churiyan
Bayyan pakar dhar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Bal bal jaaon mein toray rang rajwa
Apni see kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Khusrau Nijaam kay bal bal jayyiye
Mohay Suhaagan keeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay

You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.
By making me drink the wine of love-potion,
You've intoxicated me by just a glance;
My fair, delicate wrists with green bangles in them,
Have been held tightly by you with just a glance.
I give my life to you, Oh my cloth-dyer,
You've dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.
I give my whole life to you Oh, Nijam,
You've made me your bride, by just a glance.

Khusrau - I have become you, and you me

Mun tu shudam tu mun shudi,mun tun shudam tu jaan shudi
Taakas na guyad baad azeen, mun deegaram tu deegari

I have become you, and you me,
I am the body, you soul;
So that no one can say hereafter,
That you are are someone, and me someone else.

Khusrau - You look sleepless, in whose embrace did you pass the night

Tu shabana mi numaai be barkay boodi imshab,
Ke hunooz chashm-e mastat asar-e khumar daarad.

You look sleepless, in whose embrace did you pass the night;
Your intoxicated eye has still the signs of tipsiness.

Khusrau - People think they are alive because they have soul in them

Gar khalq jahaan zinda bajaanand wa lekin,
Mun zinda-e ishqam ki shaheed-e gham-e yaaram.

People think they are alive because they have soul in them,
But I am alive because I have love in myself,
And I’m a martyr due to the beloved’s affliction,
(for, to a lover, nothing is dearer than
the affliction brought forth by the beloved).

Khusrau - My heart is a wanderer in love, may it ever remain so

Dilam dar aashiqui aawareh shud aawareh tar baada,
Tanam az bedilee beechareh shud beechareh tar baada.

My heart is a wanderer in love, may it ever remain so.
My life’s been rendered miserable in love,
may it grow more and more miserable.

Khusrau - The creaking of the chain of majnun is

Naala-e zanjeer-e Majnun arghanoon-e aashiqanast
Zauq-e aan andaza-e gosh-e ulul-albaab neest

The creaking of the chain of Majnun is the orchestra of the lovers,
To appreciate its music is quite beyond the ears of the wise.

Hafiz - You are the moon and the sun is your slave

You are the moon and the sun is your slave;
As your slave, it like you must behave.
It is only your luminosity and light
That light of sun and moon can save.

تو بدری و خورشید تو را بنده شده‌ست
تا بنده تو شده‌ست تابنده شده‌ست
زان روی کـه از شـعاع نور رخ تو
خورشید منیر و ماه تابنده شده‌ست

Hafiz - I put my arms around your waist

I put my arms around your waist,
A lover’s embrace to taste.
From your resolve it’s obvious
All my efforts will go to waste.

مـن باکـمر تو در میان کردم دسـت
پنداشتمش که در میان چیزی هست
پیداسـت از آن میان چو بربست کمر
تا من ز کمر چه طرف خواهم بربسـت

Hafiz - The only visioni I have is your sight

The only vision I have is your sight
The only thing I follow is your light.
Everyone finds his repose in sleep,
Sleep from my eyes has taken flight.

جز نـقـش تو در نـظر نیامد ما را
جز کوی تو رهـگذر نیامد ما را
خواب ارچه خوش آمد همه را در عهدت
حـقا کـه بـه چشم در نیامد ما را

Mevlana - I swear, since seeing Your face

I swear, since seeing Your face,
the whole world is fraud and fantasy
The garden is bewildered as to what is leaf
or blossom. The distracted birds
can't distinguish the birdseed from the snare.



A house of love with no limits,
a presence more beautiful than venus or the moon,
a beauty whose image fills the mirror of the heart.

Mevlana - All through eternity Beauty unveils His exquisite form

All through eternity
Beauty unveils His exquisite form
in the solitude of nothingness;
He holds a mirror to His Face
and beholds His own beauty.
he is the knower and the known,
the seer and the seen;
No eye but His own
has ever looked upon this Universe.



His every quality finds an expression:
Eternity becomes the verdant field of Time and Space;
Love, the life-giving garden of this world.
Every branch and leaf and fruit
Reveals an aspect of His perfection-
They cypress give hint of His majesty,
The rose gives tidings of His beauty.
Whenever Beauty looks,

Love is also there;
Whenever beauty shows a rosy cheek
Love lights Her fire from that flame.
When beauty dwells in the dark folds of night
Love comes and finds a heart
entangled in tresses.
Beauty and Love are as body and soul.
Beauty is the mine, Love is the diamond.



They have together
since the beginning of time-
Side by side, step by step.

Mevlana Rumi - If anyone asks you how the perfect satisfaction

If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say,

Like this.

When someone mentions the gracefulness
of the nightsky, climb up on the roof
and dance and say,

Like this.

If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is,
or what "God’s fragrance" means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.

Like this.

When someone quotes the old poetic image
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
slowly loosen knot by knot the strings
of your robe.

Like this.

If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,
don’t try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips.

Like this. Like this.

When someone asks what it means
to "die for love," point
here.

If someone asks how tall I am, frown
and measure with your fingers the space
between the creases on your forehead.

This tall.

The soul sometimes leaves the body, the returns.
When someone doesn’t believe that,
walk back into my house.

Like this.

When lovers moan,
they’re telling our story.

Like this.

I am a sky where spirits live.
Stare into this deepening blue,
while the breeze says a secret.

Like this.

When someone asks what there is to do,
light the candle in his hand.

Like this.

When Shams comes back from Tabriz,
he’ll put just his head around the edge
of the door to surprise us

Like this.

Lugman - Looks, how she combs her hair

Look, how she combs her hair, admiring the mirror
Unaware of the flame this mad lover possess.
Smart lovers seek joy
But joy i have thrown away.
Each night i speak to sorrow
and its plan for tomorrow to kill my heart.
Friends have left me, enemies are present.
I no longer have the need for them.
In this love, i have given myself away.
What can pain & sorrow do to me now?
May pain & sorrow,
always fill the heart of this mad lover.

Majnun - You should see my Laila with my eyes.

In all the versions of the story, Layla is said to be dark & ugly, and not wanted by men. There was once Majnun, the great lover of Persia was asked, 'Oh, Majnun,' they said, 'your girl is not as beautiful as you think. You are sacrificing your life. You grieve for ages and ages for that girl. But she is not so beautiful.' Majnun answered, 'You should see my Laila with my eyes. It is the eyes of my heart you need. My heart has made my Laila.' That is called an ideal. And the ideal of perfection makes it beauty.

What usury!

Today I bartered yesterday's innocence in trust of tomorrow's payment
Supine before you, heart and soul protesting the very intent
Appeasing their ache with your promissory note, I quelled their desire
But you have not paid!
Your empty words were substitute for the heart's fixed seal
What usury!
Would that I know what you now sought...eternally before you it would be laid
Ah, but to no avail! For the heart is not to be compelled
And so...I continue to seek the one to assume your unatoned debt

Khusrau - The cloud weeps, and I become separated from my friend

Abr mi barad-o man shovm-e az yar-e judaa
Choon kunam dil becheneen roz zedildar judaa.
Abr baraan wa man-o yar satadah ba-widaa’
Man judaa girya kunaan, abr judaa, yaar judaa

The cloud weeps, and I become separated from my friend -
How can I separate my heart from my heart’s friend on such a day.
The cloud weeping – and I and the friend standing, bidding farewell -
I weeping separately, the clouds separately, the friend separately…..

(trans. A. Schimmel)

Khusrau - You carried the soul from my body – and yet

You carried the soul from my body – and yet,
You are still in the soul;
You have given pains – and are still the remedy;
Openly you split my breast –
Yet, you are still hidden in my heart.
You have destroyed the kingdom of my heart
With the sword of coquetry,
And are still a ruler in that place…

(trans. A. Schimmel)

Khusrau - O you whose beautiful face is the envy of the idols of Azar

O you whose beautiful face is the envy of the idols of Azar
You remain superior to my praise.
All over the world have I traveled;
many a maiden’s love have I tasted;
Many a beauty-star have I seen; but you are something unique.
I have become you, and you me; I have become the body,
you the soul; So that none hereafter may say
that “I am someone and you someone else.”
Khusro a beggar, a stranger has come wandering to your town;
For the sake of god, have pity on this beggar
and do not turn him away from your door.

(trans. Dr. Hadi Hasan)

Khusrau - May your charming face ever shine like the full moon

May your charming face ever shine like the full moon;
May you hold eternal sway over the domains of beauty.
By your amorous glance you have killed a poor man like me;
How magnanimous of you? May God give you a long life.
Pray do not be cruel lest you should feel ashamed of yourself
Before your lovers on the day of judgment.
I shall be set free from the bonds of the two worlds
If you become my companion for a while.
By your wanton playfulness you must have destroyed
Thousands of hearts of lovers like that of Khusrau.

Khusrau - I wonder what was the place where I was last night

I wonder what was the place where I was last night,
All around me were half-slaughtered victims of love,
tossing about in agony.
There was a nymph-like beloved with cypress-like form
and tulip-like face,
Ruthlessly playing havoc with the hearts of the lovers.
God himself was the master of ceremonies in that heavenly court,
oh Khusro, where (the face of) the Prophet too was shedding light
like a candle.

(trans. S.A.H.Abidi)

Khusrau - I am a pagan

I am a pagan and a worshipper of love: the creed (of Muslims) I do not need;
Every vein of mine has become taunt like a wire,
the (Brahman’s) girdle I do not need.
Leave from my bedside, you ignorant physician!
The only cure for the patient of love is the sight of his beloved –
other than this no medicine does he need.
If there be no pilot in our boat, let there be none:
We have god in our midst: the sea we do not need.
The people of the world say that Khusrau worships idols.
So he does, so he does; the people he does not need,
the world he does not need.

(Trans. Dr.Hadi Hasan)