quatrain 910

From sunlight, two versions of quatrain #910:

I planted roses, but without you they were thorns.
I hatched peacock eggs. Snakes were inside.
Played the harp, sour music.
I went to the eighth heaven. It was the lowest hell.

Version by Coleman Barks and John Moyne
Unseen Rain
Quatrains of Rumi
Threshold Books, 1986

I plant some flowers without you, they become thorns.
I see a peacock, it turns into a snake.
I play the rubaab – nothing but noise.
I go to the highest heaven, it's a burning hell.

Version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva
A Garden Beyond Paradise
The Mystical Poetry of Rumi
Bantam Books, 1992