Dear heart, where do you find

the courage to seek the Beloved

when you know He has annihilated

so many like you before?

I do not care, said my heart,

my only wish is to become

one with the Beloved.

First, he tempted me

with infinite caresses.

He burnt me in the end

with pain and sorrow.

In this game of chess

I had to lose myself

in order to win Him.

We are bound together.

I am the ground

You are the step.

How unfair is this Love!

I can see Your world

but You, I cannot.

I cannot sleep in your presence.

In your absence, tears prevent me.

You watch me My Beloved

on each sleepless night and

only You can see the difference.

Prayer clears the mist

and brings back peace to the soul.

Every morning, every evening

let the heart sing,

La ilaha il Allah.

“There is no reality but God.”

Looking at my life

I see that only Love

has been my soul's companion.

From deep inside

my soul cries out:

Do not wait, surrender

for the sake of Love.

Are you searching for your soul?

Then come out of your prison.

Leave the stream and join the river

that flows into the ocean.

Absorbed in this world

you've made it your burden.

Rise above this world.

There is another vision . . .

Your charm lured me

to the edge of madness.

I lost my composure.

Humbled, I was sent away.

Then, You touched my heart,

transformed and shaped me

into any form You fancied.

All year round the lover is mad,

unkempt, lovesick and in disgrace.

Without love there is nothing but grief.

In love . . . what else matters?

If you can't smell the fragrance

don't come into the garden of Love.

If you're unwilling to undress

don't enter into the stream of Truth.

Stay where you are.

Don't come our way.

Love is our mother and

the way of our Prophet.

Yet, it is in our nature

to fight with Love.

We can't see you, mother,

hidden behind dark veils

woven by ourselves.

If you have illusions about heaven

lose them.

The soul heard of one attribute of Love

and came to earth.

A hundred attributes of heaven

could never charm her back.

It is here the soul discovers

the reality of Love.

When I die,

lay my corpse to rest,

but do not be at all surprised

if His kiss on my tattered lips

brings me back to life.

Sometimes I feel like a king,

sometimes I moan in my own prison.

Swaying between these states

I can't be proud of myself.

This “I” is a figment of my imagination.

I saw my Love walking on her own,

tall and slender, dreamy eyes,

with primroses in her hands.

I leapt to steal a kiss,

she cried:

“Help, help, thief!”

Imitating others,

I failed to find myself.

I looked inside and discovered

I only knew my name.

When I stepped outside

I found my real Self.

Do you want to enter paradise?

To walk the path of Truth

you need the grace of God.

We all face death in the end.

But on the way, be careful

never to hurt a human heart!

Do you know what the music is saying?

“Come follow me and you will

find the way.

Your mistakes can also lead you

to the Truth.

When you ask, the answer

will be given.”

I am happy tonight,

united with the Friend.

Free from the pain of separation,

I whirl and dance with the Beloved.

I tell my heart, “Do not worry,

the key to morning I've thrown away.”

The Master who's full of sweetness

is so drunk with love, he's oblivious.

“Will you give me

some of your sweetness?”

“I have none,” he says,

unaware of his richness.

Peaceful

is the one

who's not concerned

with having more or less.

Unbound by name and fame

he is free from sorrow

from the world and

mostly from

himself.

The one who cuts off your head

is your friend.

The one who puts it back

is a deceiver.

The one who weighs you

with his troubles

is your burden.

But the one who truly loves you

will set you free.

You know what love is?

It is all kindness, generosity.

Disharmony prevails when

you confuse lust with love, while

the distance between the two

is endless.

Deafened by the voice of desire

you are unaware the Beloved

lives in the core of your heart.

Stop the noise,

and you will hear His voice

in the silence.

Invoking Your name

does not help me to see You.

I'm blinded by the light of Your face.

Longing for your lips

does not bring them any closer.

What veils You from me

is my memory of You.

There is a way from your heart to mine

and my heart knows it,

because it is clean and pure like water.

When the water is still like a mirror

it can behold the Moon.

Reason, when you speak

I cannot hear the Wise One.

Even if you are as thin as a hair

still there's no space for you.

In the flaming Sun

all bright lights are put to shame.

This Love is a King

but his banner is hidden.

The Koran speaks the Truth

but its miracle is concealed.

Love has pierced with its arrow

the heart of every lover.

Blood flows but the wound is invisible.

Why is my heart so troubled?

Why has love reduced me to nothing?

Why does this heart of mine

fight with me day and night?

Why?

Who are you complaining to?

I asked the reed,

Why do you moan and grieve?

“Since they've cut me from the riverbed,

what else is left for me

but to weep?”

I said to the night,

“If you are in love with the moon,

it is because you never stay for long.”

The night turned to me and said,

“It is not my fault. I never see the Sun,

how can I know that love is endless?”

To be or not to be

is not my dilemma.

To break away from both worlds

is not bravery.

To be unaware of the wonders

that exist in me,

that

is real madness!

Holding on to your feet

I cannot reach your hands.

Who can I turn to,

when it's only Your Love I want?

You tease me, saying,

“I see no tears in your eyes.”

My heart is broken, can't you see

the drops on my eyelashes?

O Friend,

You made me lovingly,

put me in a dress of skin and blood.

Then planted deep inside me

a seed from Your heart.

You turned the whole world

into a sanctuary where You are

the only One.

I asked for a kiss,

You gave me six.

From whom did You learn

such mastery?

Full of kindness, generosity . . .

You are not of this world.

When I touch the ground in prayer

I have no other purpose

but You.

All else I speak about

gardens, flowers, nightingales, whirling

is only an excuse.

I'm pleased with my sight

when I behold the Friend.

But my vision and the Friend

cannot be two.

It is He, who sees with my eyes.

I was talking about You,

You silenced me.

I tasted your sweetness

and everything stopped.

Bewildered, I fled to

the house of my heart

and there,

you caught me.

Heat is not brought by fire only.

When you suddenly walk

through my door, I feel warm.

When you promise to come but do not

I feel desolate and cold.

Frost does not appear in winter only.

Be thirsty heart,

seek forever without a rest.

Let this soundless longing

hidden deep inside you

be the source

of every word you say.

Dreamy and distracted,

you stumbled upon the Friend.

You felt His presence

and froze on your path.

If you don't have

the strength to face Him,

why seek the circle of the Drunks?

You who only see me

as a pious man,

listen to what I have to say.

I have my faith but

I also have the world.

Poor are the ones

who have neither.

My Friend,

I offer You my life.

Accept me, make me drunk

and save me from both worlds.

Set me on fire

if my heart settles on anything

but You.

There is no wine without You.

No use for the rosary without Your hand.

From afar you order me to dance.

But unless you set the stage and

draw the curtain, my Beloved,

how can I dance?

You are the light of my heart

and the comfort of my soul.

You are a troublemaker too.

You keep asking,

“Have you seen The Friend?”

When you know so well that

The Friend can not be seen.

It's good to leave each day behind,

like flowing water, free of sadness.

Yesterday is gone and its tale told.

Today new seeds are growing.

Today I am so upset!

What I was hiding deep inside

You brought out in the light.

Overcome by sleep last night

You had caught me,

unaware.

I lay in the dust at Your feet,

my heart entangled

in the curls of Your hair.

I've had enough.

Bring closer Your lips

and let Your kiss

release my soul.

Lovers drink wine all day and night

and tear the veils of the mind.

When drunk with love's wine

body, heart and soul

become one.

Last night my Beloved

was like the moon, so beautiful!

He was even brighter than the Sun.

His grace is far beyond my grasp.

The rest is silence.

Be certain

in the religion of Love

there are no

believers or unbelievers.

Love embraces all.

Walking on Your path

he who dies to himself

will come to life.

You say:

“Don't get drunk and lose yourself.”

But tell me,

how can one remain sober

drinking Your wine?

Beyond a hundred steps of wisdom,

I will be free from good and bad.

Behind the veils I will find

such Splendor, such Beauty

that I will fall in love

with Myself.

The early breeze at dawn

is the keeper of secrets.

Don't go back to sleep!

It is time for prayer,

time to find what

is your real need.

Don't go back to sleep!

The door of the One

is open, always.

Don't go back to sleep!

Dear heart, you are so unreasonable!

First you fall in love

then worry about your life.

You rob and steal

then worry about the law.

You profess to be in love

and still worry about what people say.

The heart is like a candle

longing to be lit.

Torn from The Beloved

it yearns to be whole again,

but you have to bear the pain.

You cannot learn about love.

Love appears on the wings of grace.

Last night

I begged the Wise One to tell me

the secret of the world.

Gently, gently he whispered,

“Be quiet,

the secret cannot be spoken,

it is wrapped in silence.”

On my heart

in beautiful calligraphy

You've written words

that only You and I can know.

Their secret You promised

to reveal one day

but now I see

You were only teasing.

Love is the alchemy of the East.

Like the clouds it is pregnant

with a thousand bolts of lightning.

Deep within me

moves the ocean of his Splendor

and all creation springs from it.

My heart is so small

it's almost invisible.

How can You place

such big sorrows in it?

“Look,” He answered,

“your eyes are even smaller,

yet they behold the world.”

When you see the lovers

don't pass them by,

sit with them.

The fire of Love warms the world,

but even fire dies

in the company of ashes.

Whisper to me intimately like a lover,

for tenderness is rare in this world.

It is difficult to convey the magic of love

to those who are made of dust.

Walking in the garden with my lover,

I was distracted by a rose.

My love scolded me, saying

“How could you look at a rose

with my face so close?”

With friends you grow wings.

Alone

you are a single feather in disgrace.

With them you master the wind,

but alone,

you're blown in all directions.

Today is such a happy day.

There is no room for sadness.

Today we drink the wine of trust

from the cup of knowledge.

We can't live on bread and water alone.

Let us eat a little from the hand of God.

From all that was familiar,

I broke away.

Now I am lost, without a place,

wandering.

With no music like a fool

I dance and clap my hands.

How am I to live without You?

You are everywhere

but I can't find You.

Come, come

do you hear the music?

The sema has begun!

“Go away, I'm ill,” I said.

“Oh, stop complaining,”

he pulled my ear.

“Come and see how

both worlds are dancing!”

A dervish gives freely

the secrets of the world.

His words, a precious gift.

He does not expect

his daily bread for free.

He gives his life and

asks for nothing in return.

I want a kiss from You,

said my heart.

“Yes, but the price

is your life.”

My heart leaped with joy

and said,

Who cares about the price!

He is gone!

The one without a rival.

He is gone!

The one I am never tired of.

No cure

for my broken heart.

The rose has lost its petals,

but the thorn is left behind.

God knows you under any cover

He hears your unspoken words.

Everyone is tempted

by the eloquence of speech,

but I am the slave of

the master of silence.

Drowned in my sorrow,

why do you torment me too?

Bent to the ground by the world,

why do you kick me too?

I received my life from you,

tell me, do you want it back?

I asked,

“What about my eyes?”

I will fill them with tears.

I asked,

“What about my heart?”

I will break it with sorrow.

I asked,

“What about my body?”

I will crush and throw it away.

With love you don't bargain

there, the choice is not yours.

Love is a mirror, it reflects

only your essence,

if you have the courage

to look in its face.

To place You in my heart

may turn You into thought.

I will not do that!

To hold You with my eyes

may turn You into thorn.

I will not do that!

I will set You on my breath

so You will become my life.

When you fast for a while

your nature is cleansed.

With the pure-of-heart

you may enter the garden.

To become light,

fast and burn like a candle.

Each morsel is the link that

chains you to the ground.

Awakened by your love,

I flicker like a candle's light

trying to hold on in the dark.

Yet, you spare me no blows

and keep asking,

“Why do you complain?”

Laying a myriad of traps,

you are so cunning, my Love.

Even if the world

turns into one big stone,

I wouldn't be surprised

to see your windmill

grind it into dust.

You opened the door of my heart

and filled it with the pain of love.

Shaken, I ran to seek comfort

from others, but they

did not respond to my lament.

Alone and desperate, I beg You,

do not forsake me now.

You are so near

that I cannot see You.

Like a fool I keep looking around.

Your hand cannot reach me,

I'm wrapped in so many veils

My heart sobs, inconsolable . . .

Be honest dear heart,

broken and abashed,

how can you still chase love?

Without a drop of water

how dare you enter

the raging fire of love?

Tell me foolish heart,

what can I do with you?

You are the cure hidden in the pain.

Concealed in anger and betrayal

is Your compassion and loyalty.

You are not only in heaven,

I see Your footprints

everywhere on earth.

For years I kept calling You.

Then suddenly, You came at dawn

and whirled me to the sema.

You left me with not a moment to spare,

even for my morning prayer.

When compassion fills my heart,

free from all desire,

I sit quietly like the earth.

My silent cry echoes like thunder

throughout the universe.

Be motivated like the falcon,

hunt gloriously.

Be magnificent as the leopard,

fight to win.

Spend less time with

nightingales and peacocks.

One is all talk,

the other only color.

The time has come to turn your heart

into a temple of fire.

Your essence is gold hidden in dust.

To reveal its splendor

you need to burn in the fire of love.

What pure perfection Love is,

pure perfection!

What an illusion our ego is,

what an illusion!

This love is a glory,

what Glory!

Today is the day of union,

the day of our union.

This world is full of men like Jesus,

not a place for doubt and sorrow.

Why allow salt water to rust your heart,

when the world is brimming

with pure sweet water.

I'm stubborn, ecstatic and nosy;

my friend so delicate,

impatient and weary.

Without a messenger between us

how can we find harmony?

We can only meet

in God's presence.

There are no signposts in the desert,

caravans are guided by the stars.

In the darkness of despair

hope is the only light.

But in the garden of your life,

my dear, never hope that

a weeping willow will give you dates.

The birds have flown to freedom,

the cage lies empty.

Your happy songs bring to me

the scent of heaven.

Please keep singing.

I was nothing,

you made me greater

than a mountain.

I lagged behind,

you pushed me to the front.

My heart was shattered,

you healed it.

I turned into a lover

of Myself.

Where have you gone my love?

You left me broken, hopeless.

I will mourn for you as long as I live.

Hope comes in hopelessness.

There was once a clever, cunning man

sitting comfortably on his horse.

For God he did not care,

nor for the world or truth or faith.

Tell me, how can such a man

respect this world or the next?

I want to be free

from this ego dog of mine.

I tie a collar of repentance

around his neck,

but once he sniffs the scent of blood

he tears it to pieces.

How can I tame this mad dog of mine?

I was delighted with myself,

having offered everything I had;

my heart, my faith, my work.

“And who are you,” you said,

“to think you have so much to offer?

It seems you have forgotten

where you've come from.”

I tried to give You up and

live without the pain of longing.

I tried to be empty of all passion for

You.

I failed.

Now, I know my master,

had I been a real man

I should've never tried.

I hoped my grief to be my cure,

but I drowned in helplessness.

You asked me out of kindness,

“What is your wish?”

“What I want is You,” I answered.

“That, I cannot promise.”

On my quest

I feel so confused and restless.

Set on fire, my heart explodes

with the pain of separation.

In this struggle, I am caught forever

unless I go beyond this

You and I.

I've given up work and

forsaken my livelihood.

Instead I write poetry.

My sight, my heart, my life

belong to Him.

All three words

I have woven into one,

LOVE.