Thursday, September 27, 2012

quatrain 67

From Sunlight, three versions of quatrain #67:
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.

Translation by Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi
Rumi: Whispers of the Beloved
I thought I had self-control,
so I regretted times I didn't.

With that considering over, the one thing I know
is I don't know who I am.

Version by Coleman Barks
"Unseen Rain"
there was a time
when my thought
soared as a king
or a time when I mourned
like a prisoner
those days are gone
and I have promised
not to take myself
seriously again

Translation by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Dancing the Flame

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