because I cannot sleep
Because I cannot sleep
I make music at night.
I am troubled by the one
whose face e has the color of spring flowers.
I have neither sleep nor patience,
neither a god reputation nor disgrace.
A thousand robes of wisdom are gone.
All my good manners have moved a thousand miles away.
The heart and the mind are left angry with each other.
The starts and the moon are envious of each other.
Because of this alienation the physical universe
is getting tighter and tighter.
The moon says, "How long will I remain
suspended without a sun?"
Without Love's jewel inside of me,
let the bazaar of my existence by destroyed stone by stone.
O Love, You who have been called by a thousand names,
You who know how to pour the wine
into the chalice of the body,
You who give culture to a thousand cultures,
You who are faceless but have a thousand faces,
O Love, You who shape the faces
of Turks, Europeans, and Zanzibaris,
give me a glass from Your bottle,
or a handful of bheng from Your Branch.
Remove the cork once more.
The we'll see a thousand chiefs prostrate themselves,
and a circle of ecstatic troubadours will play.
Then the addict will be breed of craving.
and will be resurrected,
and stand in awe till Judgement Day.
I make music at night.
I am troubled by the one
whose face e has the color of spring flowers.
I have neither sleep nor patience,
neither a god reputation nor disgrace.
A thousand robes of wisdom are gone.
All my good manners have moved a thousand miles away.
The heart and the mind are left angry with each other.
The starts and the moon are envious of each other.
Because of this alienation the physical universe
is getting tighter and tighter.
The moon says, "How long will I remain
suspended without a sun?"
Without Love's jewel inside of me,
let the bazaar of my existence by destroyed stone by stone.
O Love, You who have been called by a thousand names,
You who know how to pour the wine
into the chalice of the body,
You who give culture to a thousand cultures,
You who are faceless but have a thousand faces,
O Love, You who shape the faces
of Turks, Europeans, and Zanzibaris,
give me a glass from Your bottle,
or a handful of bheng from Your Branch.
Remove the cork once more.
The we'll see a thousand chiefs prostrate themselves,
and a circle of ecstatic troubadours will play.
Then the addict will be breed of craving.
and will be resurrected,
and stand in awe till Judgement Day.



Comments on this journal
one of the things i love about rumi poetry is how he throws ecstasy into it, adds to the mysticism of his works. confuses the heck outta some people, but ehhh i'm a romantic
Astounding!
Love the way he mentions Zanzibaris , in the midst of great nations like the Europeans and Turks.
Junaid, I was confused abt "Love" and other themes used in sufi poetry. But I found my answers very very clearly in a book called "The Unveiling of Love" by Shiekh Muzaffer ozak Al-Jerrahi Al-Halveti.
He talks abt the definition, types and levels of love. What is love? and how many types r there?...well find ur answer when u read that book. inshalah. :)
But i see your points.
As Haquima describes, "..references to alcohol and inebriation metaphorically.." to describe being lost in the remembrance(dikhr) of Allah.
the thing i dont understand is , how rumi uses the motions of ecstacy, and complete dillusionment into the thing you call beloved. whethers thats Allah or your lover.
He does stress mindfulness, but dont people say with a certain about of consumption of alcohol your mind begins to be very focused and directed towards a subject.
i dont believe in drinking alcholo, but i know many ppl wont care for it. So i find it a bit distressing when he combines Religion and Alcoholism.