quatrain 1112

From sunlight, a translation of quatrain #1112 to add to the Houshmand version discussed at the fullness of time.

all the precious words
you and I have exchanged
have found their way
into the heart of the universe
one day they'll pour on us
like whispering rain
helping us arise
from our roots again

trans by Nader Khalili

quatrain 430

From sunlight, a version of quatrain #430:

You call him a moon,
yet moonlight fades.
You call him a king,
yet kingdoms fall.

How often you say,
Wake up, you'll miss the sunrise.
But His Sun always shines within me.
How can I miss the sunrise?

version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva

coming near to God

Via sunlight:

The Level of Words

God has said, "The images that come
with human language
do not correspond to me,
but those who love words
must use them to come near."

Just remember,
it's like saying of the King,
"He is not a weaver."

Is that praise?

Whatever such a statement is,
words are on that level of God-knowledge.

-- Mathnawi II: 1716-1719
Poetic version by Coleman Barks
"Rumi: One-Handed Basket Weaving"
Maypop, 1991

quatrain 720

From sunlight, two more versions of quatrain #720. The Houshmand version is discussed at the pen and the eyelash. I must say these two are greatly inferior to her version.

Your love has filled me
with a madness
no one could ever know.

Your gaze has enchanted my heart
with a poem
no one could ever write.

version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva

One day
You will take my heart completely
and make it more fiery than
a dragon.
Your eyelashes will write on my heart
the poem
that could never come from the pen
of a poet.

trans by Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi

torrent of consciousness

Jewish World Review ... QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Religion is not, at the outset, a refuge of grace and mercy for the despondent and desperate, an enchanted stream for crushed spirits, but a raging, clamorous torrent of man's consciousness, with all its crises, pangs, and torments."

--- Rabbi Dr. J. B. Soloveitchik