RUMI ODES & QUATRAINS by Shahram Shiva

RUMI ODES & QUATRAINS
by Shahram Shiva

QUATRAINS

Last night,
I saw the realm of joy and pleasure.
There I melted like salt;
no religion, no blasphemy,
no conviction or uncertainty remained.
In the middle of my heart,
a star appeared,
and the seven heavens were lost in its brilliance.

***

A true Lover doesn’t follow any one religion,
be sure of that.
Since in the religion of Love,
there is no irreverence or faith.
When in Love,
body, mind, heart and soul don’t even exist.
Become this,
fall in Love,
and you will not be separated again.

***

You think you are alive
because you breathe air?
Shame on you,
that you are alive in such a limited way.
Don’t be without Love,
so you won’t feel dead.
Die in Love
and stay alive forever.

***

Bring the pure wine of
love and freedom.
But sir, a tornado is coming.
More wine, we’ll teach this storm
A thing or two about whirling.

***

My head is bursting
with the joy of the unknown.
My heart is expanding a thousand fold.
Every cell,
taking wings,
flies about the world.
All seek separately
the many faces of my love.

***

I am so drunk
I have lost the way in
and the way out.
I have lost the earth, the moon, and the sky.
Don’t put another cup of wine in my hand,
pour it in my mouth,
for I have lost the way to my mouth.

***

To Love is to be God.
Never will a Lover’s chest
feel any sorrow.
Never will a Lover’s robe
be touched by mortals.
Never will a Lover’s body
be found buried in the earth.
To Love is to be God.

***

I am drumming,
I am drumming,
I am drumming
for my Love’s ever nearing union.
They say get a life.
What is all this drumming?
I swear to that Love,
the day that I stop drumming,
is the day that I will stop living.

***
I said, meet me in the garden.
You know the one–
it is called Smiling Spring.
There are nightingales chirping away,
wine and candle lights,
and companions as soft as
pomegranate blossoms.
You think this all would sound so perfect!
But without you by my side,
what use is the Smiling Spring?
And when you are with me,
what use are pomegranate blossoms?

***

I am an atom;
you are like the countenance of the Sun for me.
I am a patient of Love
you are like medicine for me.
Without wings, without feathers,
I fly about looking for you.
I have become a rose petal
and you are like the wind for me.
Take me for a ride.

***

The Lover is ever drunk with Love.
He is mad,
she is free.
He sings with delight,
she dances with ecstasy.
Caught by our own thoughts,
we worry about everything.
But once we get drunk on that Love
whatever will be, will be.

***

Love is best when mixed with anguish.
In our town,
we won’t call you a Lover
if you escape the pain.
Look for Love in this way,
welcome it to your soul,
and watch your spirit fly away in ecstasy.

***

It is your turn now,
you waited, you were patient.
The time has come,
for us to polish you.
We will transform your inner pearl
into a house of fire.
You’re a gold mine.
Did you know that,
hidden in the dirt of the earth?
It is your turn now,
to be placed in fire.
Let us cremate your impurities.

***

The Lovers
will drink wine night and day.
They will drink until they can
tear away the veils of intellect and
melt away the layers of shame and modesty.
When in Love,
body, mind, heart and soul don’t even exist.
Become this,
fall in Love,
and you will not be separated again.

***

Love rests on no foundation.
It is an endless ocean,
with no beginning or end.
Imagine,
a suspended ocean,
riding on a cushion of ancient secrets.
All souls have drowned in it,
and now dwell there.
One drop of that ocean is hope,
and the rest is fear.

***

I am powerless by Love’s game.
How can you expect me
to behave and act modest?
How can you expect me
to stay at home,
like a good little boy?
How can you expect me
to enjoy being chained like a mad man?
Oh, my love, you will find me every night,
on your street,
with my eyes glued to your window,
waiting for a glimpse of your radiant face.

***

To heal the burning of your sorrow,
I seek a flame.
To gather the dust of your door,
I seek the palms of my hands.
To deal with you hiding behind your holiness,
I seek a good time instead.

***

Tonight
is the night.
It’s the creation of that land of eternity.
It’s not an ordinary night,
it’s a wedding of those who seek Love.
Tonight, the bride and groom
speak in one tongue.
Tonight, the bridal chamber
is looking particularly bright.

***

When we talk about the witness in our verse,
we talk about you.
A pure heart and a noble demeanor
cannot compete with your radiant face.
They will ask you
what you have produced.
Say to them,
except for Love,
what else can a Lover produce?

***

My head is bursting
with the joy of the unknown.
My heart is expanding a thousand fold.
Every cell,
taking wings,
flies about the world.
All seek separately
the many faces of my love.

***

Love came,
and became like blood in my body.
It rushed through my veins and
encircled my heart.
Everywhere I looked,
I saw one thing.
Love’s name written
on my limbs,
on my left palm,
on my forehead,
on the back of my neck,
on my right big toe…
Oh, my friend,
all that you see of me
is just a shell,
and the rest belongs to love.

***

I am in Love!
All this advise–
what’s the use?
I have drunk poison.
All this sugar
what’s the use?
You say hurry,
tie up his feet.
But its my heart that’s gone crazy,
all this rope
around my feet–
what’s the use?

***

There is a certain Love
that is formed out of the
elixir of the East.
There is a certain cloud,
impregnated with a
thousand lightnings.
There is my body,
in it an ocean formed of his glory,
all the creation,
all the universes,
all the galaxies,
are lost in it.

***

I wish I could give you a taste of
the burning fire of Love.
There is a fire
blazing inside of me.
If I cry about it, or if I don’t,
the fire is at work,
night and day.
People make clothing to cover their intellect,
but the heart of Lovers
is a shroud,
inflamed in golden hues of Love.

***

By day I praised you
and never knew it.
By night I stayed with you
and never knew it.
I always thought that
I was me–but no,
I was you
and never knew it.

***

This world is no match for your Love.
Being away from you
is death aiming to take my soul away.
My heart, so precious,
I won’t trade for a hundred thousand souls.
Your one smile takes it for free.

***

I saw Sorrow
holding a cup of pain.
I said, hey sorrow,
sorry to see you this way.
What’s troubling you?
What’s with the cup?
Sorrow said,
what else can I do?
All this Joy that you have brought to the world has killed my business completely.

***

I sipped some of love’s sweet wine,
and now I am ill.
My body aches,
my fever is high.
They called in the doctor and he said,
drink this tea!
Ok, time to drink this tea.
He said,
Take these pills!
Ok, time to take these pills.
The doctor said,
And get rid of the sweet wine of love’s lips!
Ok, time to get rid of the doctor.

***

Neither I am me,
nor you are you,
nor you are me.
Also, I am me,
you are you
and you are me.
We have become one
in such a way,
That I am confused whether
I am you,
or you are me.

***

Do you know what you are?
You are a manuscript of a divine letter.
You are a mirror reflecting a noble face.
This universe is not outside of you.
Look inside yourself;
everything that you want,
you are already that.

***

Tonight
is the night.
It is the creation of that land of eternity.
It is not an ordinary night,
It is a wedding of those who seek unity.
Tonight, the bride and groom
speak in one tongue.
Tonight, the bridal chamber
is looking particularly bright.

***

Go ahead: ask me!
Ask me about Love,
and I will tell you the essence of madness.
Ask me of an intellect gone mad,
and I will show you a soul departed for good.
Ask me of a hundred calamities,
of a hundred life transformations.
Ask me of a hundred deserts engulfed in fire.
Ask me of a hundred oceans red with blood.

***

The lover is ever drunk with love.
She is free, he is mad,
She sings with delight
As he dances in ecstasy.
Caught by our own thoughts,
We worry about everything.
But once you get drunk on that love.
Whatever will be, will be…

***

When you dance the whole universe dances.
All the realms spun around you in endless celebration.

Your soul loses its grip.

Your body sheds its fatigue.

Hearing my hands clap and my drum beat,

You begin to whirl.

***

Tonight,
I see the realm of joy and pleasure.
I’ve lost myself in it
and it has lost itself in me:
No religion,
No dogma,
No conformity,
No guilt,
No shame,
No fear,
No conviction,
No uncertainty remain.

In the middle of my heart,
a star appears,
and the seven heavens
are lost in its brilliance.

***

May this marriage be blessed.
May this marriage be as sweet as milk and honey.
May this marriage be as intoxicating as old wine.
May this marriage be fruitful like a date tree.
May this marriage be full of laughter and everyday a paradise.
May this marriage be a seal of compassion for here and hereafter.
May this marriage be as welcome as the full moon in the night sky.
Listen lovers, now you go on, as I become silent and kiss this blessed night.

***

This is a gathering of Lovers.
In this gathering
there is no high, no low,
no smart, no ignorant,
no special assembly,
no grand discourse,
no proper schooling required.
There is no master,
no disciple.
This gathering is more like a drunken party,
full of tricksters, fools,
mad men and mad women.
This is a gathering of Lovers.

***

Mansur was such a master, that on the path of God.
He split each thread from the fabric of his soul.
What did Mansur proclaim? “I am the truth.”
Who was Mansur? He was God. He was God.

***

We are the lovers of love, and Moslems are different.
We are weak as an ant, and Solomon is different.
Ask us for an ashen face and torn guts.
The bazaar of linen sellers is different.

***

In the path of union, the wise man and the mad man are one.
In the way of love, close friends and strangers are one.
That one who has tasted the wine of union with the supreme soul.
In his faith, the Kaaba and an idol temple are one.

***

I have lost myself in God, and now God is mine.
Don’t look for Him in every direction, for He is in my soul.
I am the Sultan. I would be lying.
If I said that there is someone who is my sultan.

***

Alas, don’t say those treading the path are not the chosen ones.
That the followers of Christ, or the faithless are not the chosen ones.
Because you are not chosen to be the keeper of secrets.
You think that other are not the chosen ones.

***

This is you, making me drunk in a monastery.
Turning me into an idol worshiper while I am seated at Kaaba.
I have no control in this game of good and bad.

***************************

O D E S

LOVE SAID TO ME

I worship the moon.
Tell me of the soft glow of a
candle light
and the sweetness of my moon.

Don’t talk about sorrow,
tell me of that treasure,
hidden if it is to you,
then just remain silent.

Last night
I lost my grip on reality
and welcomed insanity.
Love
saw me and said,
I showed up.
Wipe you tears
and be silent.

I said, O Love
I am frightened,
but it’s not you.
Love said to me,
there is nothing that is not me.
be silent.

I will whisper secrets in your ear
just nod yes
and be silent.

A soul moon
appeared in the path of my heart.

I said, O Love
what kind of moon is this?
Love said to me,
this is not for you to question.
be silent.

I said, O Love
what kind of face is this,
angelic, or human?
Love said to me,
this is beyond anything that you know.
Be silent.

I said, please reveal this to me
I am dying in anticipation.
Love said to me,
that is where I want you:
Always on the edge,
be silent.
You dwell in this hall of
images and illusions,
leave this house now
and be silent.

I said, O Love,
tell me this:
Does the lord know you are
treating me this way?
Love said to me,
yes it does,
just be totally…
totally…
silent.

***

LOVE DRUNK

The lover is ever drunk with love.
She is free, he is mad,
She sings with delight
As he dances in ecstasy.

Caught by our own thoughts,
We worry about everything.
But once you get drunk on that love.
Whatever will be, will be…

***

YOU WORRY TOO MUCH

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

You say,
I make you feel dizzy.
Of a little headache then,
why do you worry?
You say, I am your moon-faced beauty.
Of the cycles of the moon and
passing of the years,
why do you worry?
You say, I am your
source of passion,
I excite you.
Of playing into the Devils hand,
why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

Look at yourself,
what you have become.
You are now a field of
sugar canes,
why show that sour face to me?
You say that I keep you warm inside.
Then why this cold sigh?
You have gone to the
roof of heavens.
Of this world of dust,
why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

Your arms are heavy
with treasures of all kinds.
You are Joseph,
beautiful, strong,
steadfast in your belief,
all of Egypt has become drunk
because of you.

Of those who are blind to your beauty,
and deaf to your songs,
why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your
golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you worry?
You are in truth
the soul, of the soul, of the soul.
You are the security,
the shelter of the spirit of Lovers.
Oh the sultan of sultans,
of any other king,
why do you worry?

Be silent, like a fish,
and go into that pleasant sea.
You are in deep waters now,
of life’s blazing fire.
Why do you worry?

***

LOVER ME

Lover me, cave me,
the sweet burn of Love me.
Lover you, cave you,
Shams protect me.
Noah you, soul you,
conqueror and the conquered you
the awakened heart you.
Why hold me at that gate of your secret?

Light you, celebration you,
the victorious land you
the bird of Mount Sinai you.
You carry me on your tired beak.
Drop you, ocean you,
compassion and rage you,
sugar you, poison you.
Please don’t continue to hurt me.

The orb of the Sun you,
the house of Venus you,
the sliver of hope you.
Open up the way for me.
Day you, night you,
fasting and the crumbs of a beggar you,
water and a pitcher you.
Quench my thirst, Beloved.

Bait you, trap you,
wine you, cup you,
baked and raw you.
Please don’t let me be unbaked.

If you don’t run my body too hard,
if you don’t cut my way too much,
if you try to help rather than make my life more difficult.
Oh, all these words of mine.

***

I SAW GOODNESS GETTING DRUNK

I am gone,
lost any sense of wanting the wine
of the nowhereness ask me,
I don’t know where I am.

At times I plunge
to the bottom of the sea,
at times, rise up
like the Sun.
At times, the universe is pregnant by me,
at times I give birth to it.
The milestone in my life
is the nowhereness,
I don’t fit anywhere else.

This is me:
a rogue and a drunkard,
easy to spot
in the tavern of Lovers.
I am the one shouting hey ha.
They ask me why I don’t
behave myself.
I say, when you
reveal your true nature,
then I will act my age.

Last night, I saw Goodness getting drunk.
He growled and said,
I am a nuisance, a nuisance.
A hundred souls cried out, but
we are yours, we are yours, we are yours.
You are the light
that spoke to Moses and said
I am God, I am God, I am God.
I said Love, who are you?
He said, I am you, I am you, I am you.

***

I’VE GOT YOU NOW

My face free of sorrow,
my mouth full of wine,
my clothes torn off my body.
Look what you’ve done to me now.

He says, “That’s what I do.
I tear away the layers.
I melt the shame.
I reveal the unrevealed.”

He moves too fast.
One breath, he is outside the window.
Next breath, he is inside my shirt.
I can’t think clear,
my mind is not here,
he is all I see.

NOW!
There is new life in me.

The seven heavens cannot contain him,
but he is here,
moving up my shirt.
Pop, one button here.
Pop, one button there.

This lion of God
watches over me,
I sing as he roars.

He says, “I’ve got you now.
I gave you life,
I created you,
I do what I want now.”

I am your harp,
play me easy,
play me hard, or
don’t touch my strings at all.

You know!
I think,
I’ve got YOU now.
Before I met you,
I had only one heart,
I had only one body,
I was only being.
But look at me now,
I’ve got you now.

***

SEVEN PEARLS

Neither I am me,
nor you are you,
nor you are me.
Also, I am me,
you are you
and you are me.
We have become one
in such a way,
That I am confused whether
I am you,
or you are me.

By day I praised you
and never knew it.
By night I stayed with you
and never knew it.
I always thought that
I was me–but no,
I was you
and never knew it.

***

GATHERING OF LOVERS

***

A TIME FOR MADNESS

Once more,
Love is pouring down my ceiling
and my walls.

Once more, it is the night of the full moon,
it is time for madness.
All my immense knowledge
cannot help me now.

Insomnia took my patience.
Rain washed away my intellect.
The Lover made me lose my profession.
What good is my work anyway?

Once more,
rise, rise, rise,
Once more,
rise, rise, rise,
Once more,
rise, rise, rise.

Like the way a garden burns
in a hundred shades of orange in the fall,
a Lover’s heart shrivels for a sense of the Beloved’s touch.
Now the face of that charred garden
is my field of flowers.

Look, two hundred Jupiters
are dancing around my moon.

My Love business is booming,
but don’t credit the consultants.
I am done with the consultants
and the pundits,
they call you Jafar the imposter.

Little do they know,
Little do they know,
that you are my Shams
You are my Shams
the Flyer.

Once more,
rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise.

***

INVOCATION

Appear oh Shams,
appear.
Your boundless grace
has enraptured the lovers on the path,
for ages.
Appear oh Shams,
appear.

***

NO RELIGION

Tonight,
I see the realm of joy and pleasure.

I’ve lost myself in it
and it has lost itself in me:
No religion,
No dogma,
No conformity,
No guilt,
No shame,
No fear,
No conviction,
No uncertainty remain.

In the middle of my heart,
a star appears,
and the seven heavens
are lost in its brilliance.

***

DANCE UNIVERSE

When you dance the whole universe dances.

All the realms spun around you in endless celebration.

Your soul loses its grip.

Your body sheds its fatigue.

Hearing my hands clap and my drum beat,

You begin to whirl.

***

LOVE’S TOUCH

Love came,
and moved like blood
in my body.
It rushed through my veins
and surrounded my heart.

Everywhere I looked,
I saw…
Love’s touch.

Love’s touch:
on my left palm,
on my forehead,
on my eyelids,
on the back of my neck,
on my thighs,
on the tips of my fingers,
on my wings,
on my right big toe…

Love’s touch…

Now,
all that you see of me
is just a shell,
and the rest belongs to Love.

***

GO BACK TO SLEEP

Go back,
Go back to sleep.
Yes, you are allowed.
You who have no Love in your heart,
You can go back to sleep.

The essence of Love
is exclusive to us,
you go back to sleep.
I have been burnt
by the fire of Love.
You, who have no such yearning in your heart,
You can go back to sleep.

The path of Love,
has seventy-two folds and countless facets.
Your love and religion
is all about control, deceit and hypocrisy,
you go back to sleep.

I have torn to pieces my robe of speech,
and have let go of the desire to converse.
You who are not naked yet,
You can go back to sleep.

***

I HAVE COME TO SHINE

I have come
to take you by your hand,
and bring you to myself.

I have come
to shine your way
as you walk this path.

I will make you guiltless,
I will make you fearless,
then I will place you in the
brightest point in the universe.

I have come like a breeze of spring
to your field of flowers,
so I can hold you by my side,
and embrace you tight.

I have come
to take you by your hand,
and bring you to myself.

I have come
to shine your way
as you walk this path.

Like the cry of lovers,
I will help you reach the
roof of heavens.

From the dust of the earth to a human being,
there are a thousand steps.
I have been with you through these steps,
I have held your hand and walked by your side.

And I will be with you
as you move beyond this human form
and soar to the highest heavens.

Translation Copyright: Shahram Shiva
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