In all of love has there ever been such a lover as you?
Out of desire for you, even kings wear tattered robes.
Solomon stands at each of the four corners of your tablecloth,
Drunk with your presence, sharing his meals with the poor.
Out of love for you, the unbeliever turns into a book of belief.
His soul is chosen. He becomes the king of true faith.
He is the jewel of the soul, the inspiration of speech,
The mountaintop that sees the road, the eyes that see the king.
Everyone drunk, who drank your wine, hands extended in prayer,
Praying to increase this love, finally says “Amen.”
They say, “Recite sacred verses until your love is filled with peace.”
For the soul weary of life, what is the use of reciting sacred verses?
Out of love, the lover kisses the ground.
In your kingdom, he tosses his saddle over the back of the sky.
Such happiness, the heart inseparable from the soul,
Sometimes reaching for the wine of the soul, sometimes the black hair.
The world never filled the saddlebags of my traveling soul.
My saddlebags were only filled by Shams, the truth of Tabriz.
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From Rumi: Unseen Poems, translated and edited by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz. Translation copyright © 2019 by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz. Reprinted by permissions of Everyman’s Library, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
