Invisible Caravans

    Love's concert is calling,
    but the flute can't be seen.

    The drunks are in sight,
    but the wine can't be seen.

    Hundreds
    of caravans
    have passed
    this very way —
    Don't be surprised
    if their trace can't be seen.


    Muhammad Shirin Maghribi


    Bloom Like A Rose

    Your heartrending fire
    made me bloom like a rose.

    I died at your feet
    and returned fast to life.

    My inborn freedom
    offered nothing in profit;
    but now I am free,
    since becoming your slave.


    Sana'i


    The Same Language

    To speak the same language
    is kinship and affinity,
    yet a person stuck with those
    he can't confide in
    is trapped like a prisoner
    enchained by lack of understanding.

    It is, indeed, ironic:
    There are many people
    from India and Turkey
    who speak the same language,
    while there are countless Turks
    who really can't understand one another.

    The universal language is authentic insight.

    To be one in heart is surely superior
    to only speaking the same words.


    Rumi


    Drowned in Your Essence

    All the world's atoms
    are really your mirrors,
    drowned in your essence
    like drops in the sea.

    Like waves that roll over,
    crashing in emptiness,

    they deny themselves —

    they offer your proof.


    Walah Daghistani


    Stone Hearts

    Woe to that heart
    who cannot sense
    the beauty in music!

    Never waste your time
    discussing love's ways
    with a stone heart.

    Strangers to love
    are not invited
    to the Spiritual Concert.

    Only those who burn
    will give off smoke.


    Sa'di


    Four Elements

    Within your nature
    is every element,
    so listen to
    some sage advice:

    You are demon
    and wild beast
    and angel
    and human —

    Whatever you cultivate,
    that you will be.


    Baba Afdal Kashani


    Your Irresistible Glance

    With your irresistible glance,
    you captured my heart and soul.

    Having robbed me of those,
    take away my name and accomplishments too.

    If any trace of me remains in this world,
    please, don't delay — take that too.


    'Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani


    Still Hanging On

    As long as a speck of your existence still remains,
    the thought of idolatry still remains too.

    You said, "I broke the idol of imagination,
    so now I am free" —

    But that idol
    you supposedly demolished
    is still hanging on.


    Sa'di


    Attachment

    Whoever's chained to the world suffers more.

    Whoever's free of attachment,
    like a dervish,
    suffers less.

    A donkey with a louder bell
    always attracts a heavier load.


    Abu Sa'id Abi 'l-Khayr


    Back to Life

    Whoever you embrace
    will have everlasting life.

    Those drawn to your thought
    will dwell in happy fields.

    If you pass by one
    who fell on love's sword —
    your footsteps
    will bring him
    back to life.


    Khwaju Kirmani


    The Glow of Your Presence

    Where have you taken your sweet song?
    Come back and play me a tune.

    I never really cared for the things of this world.
    It was the glow of your presence
    that filled it with beauty.


    Hafiz


    Every Direction

    When traveling
    love's pathway,
    never stop
    turning your soul
    toward the eternal sun.

    But since the Real
    shines forth
    from every direction,
    why aim your prayers
    at only one spot?


    Fayd Fayyadi


    Without Hindrance

    When the morning of friendship with God begins
    to dawn,
    the soul becomes distant from the entire...