Monday, November 01, 2010

Didn't I Tell You... Didn't I Say....


Didn't I tell you
 
Do not leave me for I am your only Friend,
I am the spring of life.

Even if you leave in anger for thousands of years

You will come back to me for I am your goal and your end.

Didn't I tell you

not to be seduced by this colorful world

for I am the Ultimate Painter.

Didn't I tell you

you are a fish do not go to dry land

for I am the deep Sea.

Didn't I tell you

not to fall in the net like birds

for I am your wings and the power of light.

Didn't I tell you

not to let them change your mind and turn you to ice

for I am your fire and warmth.

Didn't I tell you

they will corrupt you and make you forget

that I am the Spring of all virtues.

Didn't I tell you

not to question my actions

for everything falls into order, I am the Creator.

Didn't I tell you

your heart can guide you home

because it knows that I am your Master.


Translation by Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi
Rumi: Hidden Music
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001

(image credit : profileabc)


Didn't I say, "Don't go there; I am your friend.

In this mirage of existence, I am the fountain of life."


Even if your anger takes you a hundred thousand years away,


in the end you will return, for I am your goal.


Didn't I say, "Don't be content with earthly forms;


I am the designer of the intimate chamber of your contentment."


Didn't I say, "I am the sea, and you are a single fish;


don't strand yourself on dry land; I am your clear sea."


Didn't I say, "Don't get caught in the trap like a helpless bird;


I am the power of flight – your feet and your wings."


Didn't I say, "They will waylay you and make you cold;


I am the fire and your warm desire."


Didn't I say, "They will implant their qualities in you


until you forget that the best qualities are here."


Didn't I say, "You do not know from what direction


your affairs are put in order."


I am the Creator beyond directions.


If light is in your heart, find your way home.


If you are of God, know your Benefactor.
 
Version by Kabir Edmund Helminski
"Love is a Stranger", Threshold Books, 1993


(image credit)



Did I not say to you, friend:

"Don't go, for I am your Friend?

I am the Water of Life

in the mirage of decay!

And if in anger you go

thousands of miles, far from me:

Finally you will return –

I am your goal and your end!"

Did I not say to you, friend:

"I am the sea, you're a fish.

Do not go to the dry land –

I am the Attributes' sea!"

Did I not say to you, friend:

"Don't fly like birds to the snare!

Come, I am strength for your flight,

and I am strength for your wings!"

Did I not say to you, friend:

"They'll block your road, make you cold!

But I am fire and heat,

warmth of your heart and your love!"

Did I not say to you, friend:

"Bad qualities, that's your share!

But you can lose them! I am

the fountain of qualities pure."

Did I not say to you, friend:

"Don't grieve: 'From which side my work

Will be arranged?' For I am

He who creates, without sides!"


Translation by Annemarie Schimmel
"Look! This Is Love", Shambhala, 1996

 (image credit : mailonline)


Remember what I said . . .

I said, Don't leave, for I am your Friend.

In the mirage of this world

I am the fountain of life.

Even if you leave in anger

and stay away for a thousand years

You will return to me,

for I am your goal.

I said, Don't be content with worldly promises

for I am the tabernacle of your contentment.

I said, Do not go upon the dry land

for I am the Sea without a shore.

I said, O bird, do not fly into the hunter's net;

come toward me, for I am the power

that moves your wings

that lifts you through the sky.

I said, They'll capture you and put you on ice;

I am the fire and the warmth

of your true yearning.

I said, They will cover you with water and clay;

You will forget that I am your taintless beginning.

I said, No one can tell how my work will manifest

for I create the world from all sides.

Let your heart's light guide you to my house.

Let your heart's light show you that we are one.


Version by Jonathan Star
"Rumi – In the Arms of the Beloved"
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997


(image credit : www.legaljuice.com)


haven't I told you

don't run away from me

you'll find me like a fountainhead

wherever you go in this mirage

even if you leave me

with anger for a hundred thousand years

you'll finally return

since i'm your final home

haven't i told you

don't be fooled with

the spangles in life

i'm your final fulfillment

haven't i told you

that i'm the sea and you're a small fish

you're better off staying with me

than venturing the dry shores

haven't i told you

don't go towards the trap

like a bird enticed by bait

come back to me i'm your endless strength

haven't i told you

others will kill your fire

stay with me who will set you

on flame and warm your soul

haven't i told you

others will disillusion you

you'll lose the fountainhead of

the solace i've found for you

if you're enlightened by

the lantern of your heart

guiding you to God's house

look at me i may be the path


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

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