|
Ghazal 330
once again
my sweetheart
found me in town
i was hiding from
love's rapture
i was escaping from the tavern
but soon i was found
what's the use of running
no soul can escape
no use hiding
i've been found a hundred times
i thought i could hide
in a crowded city
how can i when i was found
among my own crowded secrets
now i celebrate with joy
now i'm happy with my luck
just because no matter how
hard i hide i am found
how can i hide
when all over the marks
spotting the path of
my bleeding hunted heart
and finally my beloved
handed me as i was found
the cup of wine that washes away
all the worries and unhappiness of the world
translated January 12, 1992,
by Nader Khalili
Come, come,
The roses are in bloom!
Come, come,
The Beloved has arrived!
Now is the time to unite
the soul and the world.
Now is the time to see the sunlight
dancing as one with the shadows.
Laugh at those faithless men
who boast with loud voices.
Weep for that friend
who has turned away from the Friend.
The whole city is trembling with fear
now that the madman
has broken from his chains.
What a day!
What a day!
A day of upheaval!
A day of revolt!
Perhaps the scroll
that records every deed
is falling from the sky!
Beat the drum,
Speak no more –
The heart has gone,
The mind has gone,
The soul, too, has gone
to the Beloved.
Version by Jonathan Star
"Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved"
published by Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997
Come, come, for the rosebower has blossomed; come, come,
for the beloved has arrived.
Bring at once altogether soul and world; deliver over to the
sun, for the sun has drawn a fine blade.
Laugh at that ugly one showing off airs; weep for that friend
who is severed from the Friend.
The whole city seethed when the rumour ran abroad that
madman had once again escaped from his chains.
What a day it is, what day is it, such a day of uprising?
Perchance the scroll of men’s deeds has already fluttered from
the skies.
Beat the drums, and speak no more; what place is there for
heart and mind? For the soul too has fled.
"Mystical Poems of Rumi 1"
Translated by A. J. Arberry,
The University of Chicago Press, 1968
|
