Translation by Rawan Farhadi and Ibraham Gamard


I

Why has this night-blind sorrow enveloped me?
Is it, perhaps, blind or has seen me as blind?
I am in the heavens, and only my reflection is in water and clay.
No one can ever steal a star from the water.

Who said, ‘The one who is alive forever has died?’
And who said, ‘The Sun of Hope* has died?’
The enemy of the sun went up on the roof porch,
Closed both of his eyes and said, ‘The sun has died!’

Every day my heart sips a new sweet wine,
So that it forgets the taste of past ones.
First he brews the wine of love-sickness.
Then he offers the wine* and that makes [my heart] unconscious.

Anyone may have a dear one or a companion.
Anyone may have a trade and anyone may have a job.
But I am with the mental image of the beloved and the furnace of the heart,
Like Muhammad and Abu Bakr* in a corner of the cave.

 The love through which [my] existence, which lacks life, has been made alive,
This love, so exquisite and sweet—what is it from?
Is it in my body or is it outside my body?
Or is it in the glance of Shams, the [Sunlight of] Truth, of Tabrîz?

 O my wounded heart, truly the time has come for healing ointment.
Breathe happily, for that moment has come.
A beloved who will fulfil the needs of lovers
Has come into the world in human form.


II

The face of my beloved is a bit sour with me,
And yet I have never seen any sugar sweeter than that sourness.
Sugar would become weary of its own sweetness
If it gets any news about that sour sugar.

Not only is his every smile and appearance sweet,
But his anger, blame, reproach, and wrath are also sweet.
If I offer or do not offer the head you have requested,
What importance does my head have? But yet his demand is so sweet!

Your tyranny is better [to me] than the faithfulness of others.
And your murky behavior is better than the clearness of others.
Your amorous teasing is better than encounter with others.
And your insult is better than the praise of others.

 There is no one in the world as pure as you,
And there is no one as beautiful, elegant, agile and nimble.
There have been many accusations and reproaches on this path.
[But for me,] there is no other worry except how you are with me.


III

There is such happiness from seeing the beauty of the king,
And the soul becomes alive from seeing the face of the beloved.
I saw the hair like chains of your love in a dream.
O God, what is [the interpretation of] seeing such a disturbing dream?

That curl full of the musk of Tâtâr is entirely pleasant.
And hunting for a prey like me, it is entirely cheerful.
In the season of Spring, and especially early Spring, it is entirely delightful—
Like sugar and candy at each other’s side, it is entirely sweet.

O you, from whose stature the cypress tree stole its height.
The rose has torn its shirt in the presence of your face.
Take up a mirror, for the sake of God,
In order to see if you have heard or seen anyone like yourself.

Has the perfumed rose caught a scent of you? No, never.
Or has the sun or the stars ever seen you? No, never.
You say, ‘It is night. Look at the window.’
It is night only if you depart. Otherwise, no, never!

The Water of Everlasting Life is but a drop of the luster of your face,
And the moon in the sky is but a trace of the radiance of your face.
I said, ‘I want a long night of moonlight.’
That night is but your dark curls and the moonlight is your face.

 Some day this blossoming branch will obtain fruit,
And some day this searching falcon will obtain prey.
His mental image comes and goes to you.
How long will it go? Some day it will reside [in your heart].


IV

O dear friend, I am bound to you through friendship.
Wherever you may step, I am the ground for you.
In the creed of loverhood it is never allowed
That I should see the world through you and not see you.

I am joyous, because I am free from worldly joy.
I am drunk, because even though I don’t drink wine, I am elated.
I don’t have a need to be concerned about anyone else’s state.
May this secret glory [continue to] be a blessing for me.

 May the heart of love never gaze at this base world!
What is there to gaze upon except Love?
I will reject my eyes on the day of my death
If they forsake love due to gazing at this life.

How long will I [need to] experience colors and smells from the world of time?
It’s time for me to meet that one of exquisite character.
When I look at him, I’ll see my own image.
And when I look at myself, I’ll see his image.