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Resources => Poetry [Public] => Topic started by: nichi on April 12, 2007, 02:16:40 PM

Title: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on April 12, 2007, 02:16:40 PM

COME INSIDE THE FIRE


Come inside the fire,
leave your trickery behind
go insane
go mad
burn like a candle-moth

first make yourself a stranger
to yourself and
tear down your house
then move with us
dwell in the abode of love

wash your chest
seven times over
cleansing from hatred
then mold yourself into the chalice
holding the pure wine of love

to understand the intoxicated
you must become intoxicated
to join the eternal soul
you must become a soul

you heard my story and
your spirit grew wings
now you must be annihilated in love
to become a fable of your own

your imagination my friend flies away
then pulls you as a follower
surpass the imagination and
like fate
arrive ahead of yourself

passion and desire
has locked your heart
you must become the key
the teeth of the key
to open all locks

King Solomon gives you a message
listen to the birds
they are talking to you
calling you a trap
frightening them away

to capture us they say
you must make a nest
you must make a nest

your sweetheart's face
is appearing now
change yourself to a mirror
and fill yourself to the brim

so many gifts
you purchased for your love
quit buying gifts
give yourself over

you were a part of the
mineral kingdom in the beginning
then you changed to animal life for awhile
then you found the soul of a human for awhile
now the time has arrived
to become
the soul of souls


~RUMI~

Rumi, Fountain of Fire
Translated by Nader Khalili
Cal-Earth Press, 1994

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on September 02, 2007, 05:58:29 AM

i'm loyal
to the image and beauty
of my beloved
please speak of that image only
and say no more

whenever you're with me
speak only about
the generosity of candles
the generosity of the sugarcane
and say no more

don't speak of any suffering
show me the treasure that waits
at the end of the road
if you're ignorant of the path
then say no more

last night i was in flame
my beloved saw me and said
"i'm here at last
don't tear your clothes
lament no more"

i begged my beloved
to understand my condition
to sense my fear
my love said "when i'm present
you must seek no more

i'll whisper the words
of secrets into your ear
and you must promise not to answer
just nod your head
and say no more

the face of a sweetheart
has penetrated your heart
the tenderness is all there is
your journey is the journey of love
sense it to the depth and say no more"

i asked if the face
belongs to a human
or that of an angel
"neither this nor that
sense it but say no more"

i said if you don't
identify this for me at once
my life will be shattered
"be shattered at once
but say no more

you're dwelling in
a house filled with
images and dreams
pack all your belongings
move out but say no more"

you're simply expressing
the experience of God
i said to the beloved
"yes this is the answer
but for God's sake say no more"


~Rumi~
per Nader Khalili
"Rumi -- Fountain of Fire"

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on September 07, 2007, 07:11:53 AM

IF YOU DWELL VERY LONG
in a heart depressed and dark
be aware you've fallen low
in will and quest

a heart filled with grief
whirling and spinning endlessly
can never feel at peace

what makes you
tremble in fear
that's your true worth now

whatever seems to be
your healing source
is the cause of your pain

whatever you think
is sure secure and forever
is what has hunted you down

whenever your mind flies
it can only land
in the house of madness

whenever love arrives
there is no more space
for your self claim

a heart filled with love
is like a phoenix
that no cage can imprison

such a bird can only fly
above and beyond
any known universe


~Rumi


"RUMI, Fountain of Fire", ghazal number 609,
by Nader Khalili

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on September 18, 2007, 09:09:55 AM

i was ready to tell
the story of my life
but the ripple of tears
and the agony of my heart
wouldn't let me

i began to stutter
saying a word here and there
and all along i felt
as tender as a crystal
ready to be shattered

in this stormy sea
we call life
all the big ships
come apart
board by board

how can i survive
riding a lonely
little boat
with no oars
and no arms

my boat did finally break
by the waves
and i broke free
as i tied myself
to a single board

though the panic is gone
i am now offended
why should i be so helpless
rising with one wave
and falling with the next

i don't know
if i am
nonexistence
while i exist
but i know for sure
when i am
i am not
but
when i am not
then i am

now how can i be
a skeptic
about the
resurrection and
coming to life again

since in this world
i have many times
like my own imagination
died and
been born again

that is why
after a long agonizing life
as a hunter
i finally let go and got
hunted down and became free

           -- Ghazal 1419, from Rumi's "Diwan-e Shams"
              Translation by Nader Khalili
              "Rumi -- Fountain of Fire"

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on November 03, 2007, 10:11:33 PM

The next is born from the last

look at love
how it tangles
with the one fallen in love

look at spirit
how it fuses with earth
giving it new life

why are you so busy
with this or that or good or bad
pay attention to how things blend

why talk about all
the known and the unknown
see how the unknown merges into the known

why think seperately
of this life and the next
when one is born from the last

look at your heart and tongue
one feels but deaf and dumb
the other speaks in words and signs

look at water and fire
earth and wind
enemies and friends all at once

the wolf and the lamb
the lion and the deer
far away yet together

look at the unity of this
spring and winter
manifested in the equinox

you too must mingle my friends
since the earth and the sky
are mingled just for you and me

be like sugarcane
sweet yet silent
don't get mixed up with bitter words

my beloved grows
right out of my own heart
how much more union can there be

~ Rumi

(Ghazal 2381, Translated by Nader Khalili)

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on March 20, 2008, 03:03:51 PM

Sadly, this translator of Rumi passed on 5 March.
Nader Khalili (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_Khalili)


your sudden journey
from our city
my beloved
filled you with sweetness
and left me in the dark

you went along
with your own sweetheart
the one for whom
every soul is ready
to leave the body and fly

it was that spectrum
the one who came
first as a light
brightened your path
then took you away in limelight

you were ready
happy to leave this lowly earth
while filled with ecstasy
you flew away with rapture
to the ultimate and beyond

now that you're gone
you've forever found
the ultimate paradise
free from bread
free from bread givers

now you are
like a pure soul
like a dream
every moment
taking a new form

send me some words
of your tender journey
my beloved and
if you don't
i know for sure
you're forever immersed
like a precious pearl
in the endless sea


Ghazal 2565, from the Diwan-e Shams
Translation by Nader Khalili.
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1995

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on March 20, 2008, 03:10:33 PM

i was dead
i came alive
i was tears
i became laughter

all because of love
when it arrived
my temporal life
from then on
changed to eternal

love said to me
you are not
crazy enough
you don't
fit this house

i went and
became crazy
crazy enough
to be in chains

love said
you are not
intoxicated enough
you don't
fit the group

i went and
got drunk
drunk enough
to overflow
with light-headedness

love said
you are still
too clever
filled with
imagination and skepticism

i went and
became gullible
and in fright
pulled away
from it all

love said
you are a candle
attracting everyone
gathering every one
around you

i am no more
a candle spreading light
i gather no more crowds
and like smoke
i am all scattered now

love said
you are a teacher
you are a head
and for everyone
you are a leader

i am no more
not a teacher
not a leader
just a servant
to your wishes

love said
you already have
your own wings
i will not give you
more feathers

and then my heart
pulled itself apart
and filled to the brim
with a new light
overflowed with fresh life

now when the heavens
are thankful that
because of love
i have become
the giver of light



-- Ghazal 1393
Translation by Nader Khalili,
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1994

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on March 20, 2008, 03:34:09 PM

i've come again                                                                                     
like a new year
to crash the gate
of this old prison

i've come again
to break the teeth and claws
of this man-eating
monster we call life

i've come again
to puncture the
glory of the cosmos
who mercilessly
destroys humans

i am the falcon
hunting down the birds
of black omen
before their flights

i gave my word
at the outset to
give my life
with no qualms
i pray to the Lord
to break my back
before i break my word

how do you dare to
let someone like me
intoxicated with love
enter your house

you must know better
if i enter
i'll break all this and
destroy all that

if the sheriff arrives
i'll throw the wine
in his face
if your gatekeeper
pulls my hand
i'll break his arm

if the heavens don't go round
to my heart's desire
i'll crush its wheels and
pull out its roots

you have set up
a colorful table
calling it life and
asked me to your feast
but punish me if
i enjoy myself

what tyranny is this



Rumi, Fountain of Fire
Nader Khalili

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on April 10, 2008, 09:20:11 PM

come and see me
today i am away
out of this world

hidden away
from me and i

i grabbed a dagger
made slices of
me from myself
since i belong
not to me
not to anyone

i am so sorry
for not having done
this cutting away before
it was my soul's mind
and not mine

i have no idea
how my inner fire
is burning today
my tongue
is on a different flame

i see myself
with a hundred faces
and to each one
i swear it is me

surely i must have
a hundred faces
i confess none is mine

i have no face


~Rumi

Ghazal 1519
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on April 27, 2008, 04:39:39 PM

You Worry Too Much

Oh soul,
you worry too much.
You say,
I make you feel dizzy.
Of a little headache then,
why do you worry?   
You say, I am your moon-faced beauty.
Of the cycles of the moon and
passing of the years,
why do you worry?
You say, I am your source of passion,
I excite you.
Of playing into the Devils hand,
why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

Look at yourself,
what you have become.
You are now a field of sugar canes,
why show that sour face to me?
You say that I keep you warm inside.
Then why this cold sigh?
You have gone to the roof of heavens.
Of this world of dust, why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

Your arms are heavy
with treasures of all kinds.
About poverty,
why do you worry?
You are Joseph,
beautiful, strong,
steadfast in your belief,
all of Egypt has become drunk
because of you.
Of those who are blind to your beauty,
and deaf to your songs,
why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

You have seen your own strength.     
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you worry?
You are in truth
the soul, of the soul, of the soul.
You are the security,
the shelter of the spirit of Lovers.
Oh the sultan of sultans,
of any other king,
why do you worry?

Be silent, like a fish,
and go into that pleasant sea.
You are in deep waters now,
of life's blazing fire.
Why do you worry?

~Rumi
Per Nader Khalili

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: nichi on February 15, 2009, 06:41:01 AM

Wings in place of my slow feet
how long
can i see myself
chained in this prison
chained in this world

the time has come
to take my good life
in my hands and
gallop to the sublime

finally purified
i'm no more polluted
and from now on
i'll take my quests
directly to God Himself

i was given
at my birth
all the estates and mansions
it will be a heresy
to accept only
a doorkeeper's job

once i alter this
doorkeeper's attitude
once i change the
essence in my mind
happiness will replace misery

now my dear heart
since you and i are all alone
having your midnight message
i'll do exactly
that which you know

once i grow wings
in place of my slow feet
all obstacles will vanish
and i really can fly in
time and space again



-- Ghazal 1391
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi -- Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1994

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on September 08, 2009, 04:45:27 AM

how long
can i lament
with this depressed
heart and soul

how long
can i remain
a sad autumn
ever since my grief
has shed my leaves

the entire space
of my soul
is burning in agony

how long can i
hide the flames
wanting to rise
out of this fire

how long can one suffer
the pain of hatred
of another human
a friend behaving like an enemy

with a broken heart
how much more
can i take the message
from body to soul

i believe in love
i swear by love
believe me my love

how long
like a prisoner of grief
can i beg for mercy

you know i'm not
a piece of rock or steel
but hearing my story
even water will become
as tense as a stone

if i can only recount
the story of my life
right out of my body
flames will grow


Rumi
-- Ghazal (Ode) 408
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on February 20, 2010, 06:21:31 PM

YOU ARE DRUNK
and i'm intoxicated
again and again
i told you
drink less
a cup or two

i know in this city
no one is sober
one is worse than the other
one is frenzied and
the other gone mad

come on my friend
step into the tavern of ruins
taste the sweetness of life
in the company of another friend

here you'll see
at every corner
someone intoxicated
and the cup-bearer
makes her rounds

i went out of my house
a drunkard came to me
someone whose glance
uncovered a hundred
houses in paradise

rocking and rolling
he was a sail
with no anchor but
he was the envy of all those sober ones
remaining on the shore

where are you from i asked
he smiled in mockery and said
one half from the east
one half from the west
one half made of water and earth
one half made of heart and soul
one half staying at the shores and
one half nesting in a pearl

i begged
take me as your friend
i am your next of kin
he said i recognize no kin
among strangers
i left my belongings and
entered this tavern
i only have a chest
full of words
but can't utter
a single one


RUMI, Fountain of Fire, ghazal number 2309,
Nader Khalili

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on February 20, 2010, 06:28:59 PM

i don't need
a companion who is
nasty sad and sour

the one who is
like a grave
dark depressing and bitter

a sweetheart is a mirror
a friend a delicious cake
it isn't worth spending
an hour with anyone else

a companion who is
in love only with the self
has five distinct characters

stone hearted
unsure of every step

lazy and disinterested
keeping a poisonous face

the more this companion waits around
the more bitter everything will get
just like a vinegar
getting more sour with time

enough is said about
sour and bitter faces
a heart filled with desire for

sweetness and tender souls
must not waste itself with unsavory matters



Translated by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Fountain of Fire


 :) ;)

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on February 20, 2010, 06:37:57 PM

if you pass your night
and merge it with dawn
for the sake of heart
what do you think will happen

if the entire world
is covered with the blossoms
you have labored to plant
what do you think will happen

if the elixir of life
that has been hidden in the dark
fills the desert and towns
what do you think will happen

if because of
your generosity and love
a few humans find their lives
what do you think will happen

if you pour an entire jar
filled with joyous wine
on the head of those already drunk
what do you think will happen

go my friend
bestow your love
even on your enemies
if you touch their hearts
what do you think will happen


~Rumi, per NK

Title: Nader Khalili & Posterity
Post by: Nichi on February 20, 2010, 07:53:59 PM

Though his versions of Rumi are impassioned and highly regarded, what Khalili will be remembered for is the following:

About Nader Khalili
ARCHITECT AND AUTHOR
Nader Khalili (1936-2008) is the world-renowned Iranian-American architect, author, humanitarian, teacher, and innovator of the Geltaftan Earth-and-Fire system known as Ceramic Houses, and of the Superadobe construction system. Khalili received his philosophy and architectural education in Iran, Turkey, and the United States.

In 1984, Lunar and Space habitation became an integral part of his work. He presented his “Magma Structures” design, based on Geltaftan System, and “Velcro-Adobe” system (later to become Superadobe) at the 1984 NASA symposium, “Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century.” He was subsequently invited to Los Alamos National Laboratory as a visiting scientist. Starting in 1984, he presented papers and was published in several symposiums and publications including those of NASA, and the “Journal of Aerospace Engineering” for which he was awarded by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Khalili was a member of the team of “Lunar Resources Processing Project,” along with the Princeton based Space Studies Institute, McDonnell Douglas Space Systems, and Alcoa.

Khalili was the founder and director of the Geltaftan Foundation (1986), and the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth) (1991). At Cal-Earth. Khalili taught his philosophy and earth architecture techniques. His sustainable solutions to human shelter have been published by NASA, and awarded by the United Nations, and the Aga Khan award for Architecture, among others. At Cal-Earth, prototypes were built and tested for inclusion in the Uniform Building Code.

His six books were written while evolving these techniques and his philosophy of architecture. He wrote Racing Alone and Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to Build Your Own while developing the Geltaftan “Earth and Fire” system for building Ceramic houses; Sidewalks on the Moon while designing for the moon, a journey through tradition and technology; and Emergency Sandbag Shelter and Eco-Village: How to Build Your Own, which recorded the building techniques researched and developed at Cal-Earth. Rumi, the Persian language mystic poet, was the inspiration behind Khalili’s work for his wisdom concerning humanity and the elements of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. Khalili translated Rumi’s work in Rumi, Fountain of Fire translations of 75 poems, and Rumi, Dancing the Flame 300 Rubayiat poems.

Khalili’s “Works and Words” have been widely exhibited and published in the U.S. and at international institutions including the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico; and broadcast on national and statewide TV channels such as the BBC World Service and Voice of America. Over 100 hands-on workshops and lectures were conducted in the U.S. and abroad, from Princeton University and MIT to inmates of Chino and other prisons, from NASA and Los Alamos National Laboratory to many Native American Reservations, and from children in South Central Los Angeles hospitals to the Universities of California, as well as other national and international universities.

Khalili’s architectural works also include: the design of a future-oriented community for 5,000 inhabitants for Future City/ Villages, Intl. in New Cuyama, California in 1988 (prototype built on-site, and pre-fabricated vault modules were built, fired, and glazed at a brick factory); Malekshahr of Isfahan, a community for 20,000, which was designed and partially constructed in 1979; the Middle East headquarters of Dupont/Polyacryl was designed and supervised, completed in 1978; as well as over 100 projects of conventional buildings ranging from high-rise to single residence.

Khalili passed away at the age of 72 on Wednesday, March 5, 2008.

Born in Iran as one of nine children, his quest was to empower the world’s poor and refugees to build homes using the earth under their feet. Khalili’s son Dastan, and daughter Sheefteh, are now working to carry forward his vision and quest throughout the world. He was a prominent American leader on the value of ethically based architecture, where the needs of the homeless are considered above all else.

Inspired by the mystical poetry of Rumi (whose poems he studied and translated from an early age), his architecture was distilled from the timeless principles of this universe and its timeless materials—the elements of earth, air, water, and fire, and has been described as “Poetry crystallized into structure.”

Laura Huxley, Aldous Huxley’s widow, called Khalili the “practical visionary.” He was a quiet hero and a gentle humanitarian, who wrote: “No one can prove there is a meaning to life. I must make my own life meaningful. That is all.”

Nader Khalili’s Message
The world's focus on Global Warming with its unpredictable future is happening while the world is trying to recuperate from the catastrophic central Asian Earthquake as well as the Asian Tsunami, which also happened on the anniversary of the great Bam earthquake in Iran. Tens of thousands have lost their lives — most communities wiped out in a matter of minutes or hours. The hurricanes on the South Coast of the United States have created an unprecedented disaster requiring great cost and effort to deal with. Added to this are the Central American hurricanes, refugees in Darfur, as well as continuous victims of AIDS who leave behind huge numbers of homeless orphans.

Emergency help has been rushing and criss-crossing the globe to find survivors — doctoring, feeding, crowding them into temporary shelters and relocating them. There are not enough tents in the world to shelter the latest Central Asian earthquake victims who are facing more disaster from the winter freeze and winds.

The greatest costs of rebuilding after the disasters goes to the infrastructure and human shelter.

The need is ever more urgent to build self-help, emergency shelters which can become sustainable, permanent structures and are more resistant to more disasters.

The accelerating rate of disasters in the world and the historical increase in the loss of human life and property, must create a sense of urgency for the U.N. and other agencies to pay serious attention to alternative ways of building.

See more at:
http://calearth.org/about/about-nader-khalili.html

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on March 06, 2010, 08:33:17 PM

if you can disentangle
yourself from your selfish self
all heavenly spirits
will stand ready to serve you

if you can finally hunt down
your own beastly self
you have the right
to claim Solomon's kingdom

you are that blessed soul who
belongs to the garden of paradise
is it fair to let yourself
fall apart in a shattered house

you are the bird of happiness
in the magic of existence
what a pity when you let
yourself be chained and caged

but if you can break free
from this dark prison named body
soon you will see
you are the sage and the fountain of life


           -- Ghazal (Ode) 3291
              Translation by Nader Khalili
              "Rumi, Fountain of Fire"

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Jahn on March 07, 2010, 06:46:20 AM

I am the blessed soul
and I claim Salomons Kingdom.

Is that fair enough?  ;)

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on March 07, 2010, 06:49:59 AM

 :)  :)

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on March 02, 2012, 09:18:58 PM

if your beloved
has the life of a fire
step in now and burn along

in a night full of
suffering and darkness
be a candle spreading light till dawn

stop this useless
argument and disharmony
show your sweetness and accord

even if you feel
torn to pieces
sew yourself new clothes

your body and soul
will surely feel the joy
when you simply go along

learn this lesson from
lute tambourine and trumpet
learn the harmony of the musicians

if one is playing a wrong note
even among twenty
others will stray out of tune

don't say what is the use
of me alone being peaceful
when everyone is fighting

you're not one
you're a thousand
just light your lantern

since one live flame
is better than
a thousand dead souls

-- Ghazal 1197
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on June 29, 2012, 05:11:48 PM

if you stay awake
for an entire night
watch out for a treasure
trying to arrive

you can keep warm
by the secret sun of the night
keeping your eyes open
for the softness of dawn

try it for tonight
challenge your sleepy eyes
do not lay your head down
wait for heavenly alms

night is the bringer of gifts
Moses went on a ten-year journey
during a single night
invited by a tree
to watch the fire and light

Mohammed too made his passage
during that holy night
when he heard the glorious voice
when he ascended to the sky

day is to make a living
night is only for love
commoners sleep fast
lovers whisper to God all night

all night long
a voice calls upon you
to wake up
in the precious hours

if you miss your chance now
when your body is left behind
your soul will lament
death is a life of no return

-- Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1994

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on July 22, 2012, 03:35:04 PM

how long
can i see myself
chained in this prison
chained in this world

the time has come
to take my good life
in my hands and
gallop to the sublime

finally purified
i'm no more polluted
and from now on
i'll take my quests
directly to God Himself

i was given
at my birth
all the estates and mansions
it will be a heresy
to accept only
a doorkeeper's job

once i alter this
doorkeeper's attitude
once i change the
essence in my mind
happiness will replace misery

now my dear heart
since you and i are all alone
having your midnight message
i'll do exactly
that which you know

once i grow wings
in place of my slow feet
all obstacles will vanish
and i really can fly in
time and space again

-- Ghazel 1391
Translated by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on February 28, 2013, 08:21:06 AM

seek only the knowledge
that un-ties the problems
of your life
seek it soon
before
your number is up
leave alone
what seems to be
but is not
seek what
seems not to be
yet it might

--Translation by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Dancing the Flame

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on June 07, 2013, 06:59:07 PM

whenever you meet
someone deep drunk
yet full of wisdom
be aware and watch
this person is enthralled
only by love

anytime you see
someone who seems gone
tipsy and happy
filled with rapture
be sure and observe
this is the condition
of someone in love

if you see a head
happy and thrilled
filled with joy
every night and day
this head was fondled
by the fingers of love

every moment
someone is blessed
a tree sprouts
an angel flies
even a monster
leaps with delight

when your body
feels together
when your soul
wants to unite
you are chosen
for a blissful love


-- Ghazal 2132
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Michael on June 07, 2013, 10:35:13 PM

Thanks for finding these V - Rumi is always healing to the spirit.

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on August 16, 2013, 08:04:48 PM

come on darling
pass me one more cup
bestow on my soul
tranquility once more

and do it now
today is my turn
i can wait no more
for the unknown tomorrow

if you have as my share
even a small trace of grace
give it to me now
don't make me wait

let me go free
help me to break out
from this new trap
i've fallen into again

don't hand me over
to the monster of my thoughts
my thoughts are another trap
another waiting vampire

take my only belongings
take them to the pawn shop
pledge them once more and
bring me the last cup


-- Ode (Ghazal) 1045
Translated by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Nichi on January 08, 2017, 12:00:38 PM

Quote from: nichi on September 18, 2007, 09:09:55 AM

i was ready to tell
the story of my life
but the ripple of tears
and the agony of my heart
wouldn't let me

i began to stutter
saying a word here and there
and all along i felt
as tender as a crystal
ready to be shattered

in this stormy sea
we call life
all the big ships
come apart
board by board

how can i survive
riding a lonely
little boat
with no oars
and no arms

my boat did finally break
by the waves
and i broke free
as i tied myself
to a single board

though the panic is gone
i am now offended
why should i be so helpless
rising with one wave
and falling with the next

i don't know
if i am
nonexistence
while i exist
but i know for sure
when i am
i am not
but
when i am not
then i am

now how can i be
a skeptic
about the
resurrection and
coming to life again

since in this world
i have many times
like my own imagination
died and
been born again

that is why
after a long agonizing life
as a hunter
i finally let go and got
hunted down and became free

           -- Ghazal 1419, from Rumi's "Diwan-e Shams"
              Translation by Nader Khalili
              "Rumi -- Fountain of Fire"

~encore

Title: Re: Nader Khalili Versions of Rumi
Post by: Michael on December 02, 2017, 01:38:12 AM

Yes