Rumi: Ghazal 436 [The Fragrance of Thy Wine]
“Who knocks at my gate?” he queried with a voice clear. “Naught but a meek slave,” I returned, “Thy serf, ready to adhere.” “And what dost thou seek herein?” he pressed. “O luminary of night,” quoth I, “To proffer thee my best.” “How long wilt thou tarry?” he posed in query. “Till thou beckon,” was […]
Rumi: Ghazal 1197 [The Gown of Concord]
If fire be thy companion, then enter and blaze thou bright! In the Eve of Parting, like a taper burn ’til morning light! Thou bear’st the weight of contraries, yet harmony thou dost weave; When they rend thine attire, stitch thou the Gown of Concord to achieve. In harmony, flesh and spirit find the soul’s […]
Rumi: Ghazal 1317 [Weeping Eye]
Behold, the mock sovereign strides with pomp and steed, Laden and ponderous, in his gilded garment indeed. He spurns death and asks: “Whence comes destiny?” Death answers from all sides: “Behold, here I be.” Death says: “O fool, where is thy power and sheen, Thy wealth, thy pride, thy anger, thy scorn so keen? Where […]
Rumi: Ghazal 189 [Dance, Dance]
For sooth, the spring hath souls anew arrayed, Dance now, O branch, in tender verdure’s shade. As Joseph’s trek did sweeten Egypt’s glade, Begin thy dance, let joyfulness not fade. O king, by love’s own milk so sweetly reared, Advance, surge forth, as lion unfeared. Thou art thine father’s apple, so endeared, Join now […]
Rumi: Ghazal 2130 [Whirlwind of Madness]
O lovers, O ardent souls, the sight of His visage ensnares the mind, casting one into a whirlwind of madness and fervor. Characters transform, worlds crumble in disarray. Commence the quest for the Beloved, let the marketplace collapse; like the river’s current, surge forward headlong, turning the world upside down. In the realm of love, […]
Rumi: Ghazal 28 [The Color of God]
O sovereign of our flesh and spirit, O enchantress who lures forth our laughter and reveals our splendor, O who adorns our gaze with kohl, O radiance that illuminates our inner eye. O fair one, at thy splendor even the moon trembles when it beholds thy splendor; our life-blood is an offering for thy affection; […]
Rumi’s Ghazal 1187: In the Realm of Love
Rumi’s Ghazal 1187: In the Realm of Love Your love arrived later yet surpasses those before, exceeding previous passions; God decreed, “Those who come later will advance further.” Its seal is adorned with the verse, “Indeed, We have opened,” inscribed in golden script; its forms emerge from the azure sea of life. Adam returned once […]
Rumi: Ghazal 1374
Rumi: Ghazal 1374 O lovers, O lovers, hear me, I have the power to transmute mere earth into precious jewels. O minstrels, O minstrels, I shall fill your tambourines with gold. O those parched for life’s elixir, today I take the role of the cupbearer, turning this barren earth into a paradise, immersing it in […]
Rumi: Ghazal 1334
What a miracle: we are in the fall, and the sun has entered the sign of Aries. My blood begins to boil in the flow of my body like a camel going wild and setting my being in motion. Watch the play of these waves of blood! See how the plains fill with Majnuns! […]
Rumi: Love Poems [English Translation]
About the Poet Rūmī, in full Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, also called by the honorific Mawlānā, (born c. September 30, 1207, Balkh [now in Afghanistan]—died December 17, 1273, Konya [now in Turkey]), the greatest Sufi mystic and poet in the Persian language, famous for his lyrics and for his didactic epic Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī (“Spiritual Couplets”), which widely influenced mystical thought and literature throughout the Muslim world. After his death, his disciples were […]