Chaosplay

Instead, I love it now. When I cannot sleep, I find some of the great websites on the internet. Tonight, I found Poetry Chaikhana, a website with sufi & a lot of cool poetry.  This is what I will be reading tonight:

No end, no end to the journey
no end, no end never
how can the heart in love
ever stop opening
if you love me,
you won’t just die once
in every moment
you will die into me
to be reborn

–from Secret Language: Rumi A Celebration in Song (Music CD), by Ramananda

I was,
And I am.
So shall I be, to the end of time,
For I am without end.

I have cleft the vast spaces of the infinite, and
taken flight in the world of fantasy, and drawn nigh
to the circle of light on high.
Yet behold me a captive of matter.
I have hearkened to the teachings of Confucius,
and listened to the wisdom of Brahma, and sat
beside the Buddha beneath the tree of knowledge.
Behold me now contending with ignorance and
unbelieving.

I was upon Sinai when the Lord showed Himself
to Moses. By the Jordan I beheld the Nazarene’s
miracles. In Medina I heard the words of the
Apostle of Arabia.

Behold me now a prisoner of doubt.
I have seen Babylon’s strength and Egypt’s glory
and the greatness of Greece. My eyes cease not
upon the smallness and poverty of their works.
I have sat with the witch of Endor and the priests
of Assyria and the prophets of Palestine, and I cease
not to chant the truth.

I have learned the wisdom that descended on
India, and gained mastery over poetry that welled
from the Arabian’s heart, and hearkened to the
music of people from the West.
Yet am I blind and see not; my ears are stopped
and I do not hear.

I have borne the harshness of unsatiable
conquerors, and felt the oppression of tyrants and the
bondage of the powerful.
Yet am I strong to do battle with the days.
All this have I heard and seen, and I am yet a
child. In truth shall I hear and see the deeds of
youth, and grow old and attain perfection and
return to God.

I was,
And I am.
So shall I be, to the end of time,
For I am without end.

small ship, radiant sky, originally uploaded by n+s.

You are neither for this earth nor for that sky.
The world is for you; you are not for the the world.

This garden is the place for pain and prayer.
Not for picking flowers or for building a nest.

How long will you stay in the Ravi, Nile, and Farat?
Your ship was built for endless oceans.

It was nothing, what we have made it.
We made it more, just for our fantasies.

Cool Breeze – by Amer

in this hot desert heat
you were a cool breeze

gone in a moment just as you came
leaving me behind to wonder if you will ever return

to mess up my hair
to touch my thristy lips softly

you were a sweet dream
vanished with the stars in the morning

leaving me to wake up in the blinding sunlight
to look for a shade where there are no trees

you were a beautiful song
which i cannot hear anymore in this noise

i tired dancing to you
but there was no floor

a wish which cannot be fullfilled, a desire which will never die
my hope was in vain but i held on to it.

you were a magic happened in a blink of an eye
just as a shooting star disappears in the night sky

you were a poem written with an ink
on paper left in the rain, washed away before I could read

A Poem by Mir Taqi:

Stop crying, this is just the beginning of love.
Hold on and see what will be next.

In the morning, there were voices in the caravan.
Let’s move on and let the sleeper sleep.

On this ground nothing can grow.
Please stop planting seeds of wishes in your heart.

These are marks of true love, they remain forever.
It is not possible to wash them away from your heart.

This time was more important than anything else in my life.
And Mir, I wadted my time foolishly.

I found some of old translations I did for one of my class I thought I might as well put it up here…

Poem by Mir Dard

It was a school or temple, or it was Makkah or church.
We were all guests, only you were the host.

Oh! How sad it is. I found just before death.
It was only a dream, what I saw. It was only a fairytale, what I heard.

It is sad to say autumn is in the garden.
There was some grass, which was my friend.

This place is going crazy with all these people coming and going.
My heart used to be the place for your peace.

It is useless to remember them, try to be happy.
Dard, it is not important if they remember me or not.

As I turn back, my eyes dampen
When I realized my incomplete life

My life became evident to me
Broken promises
Deserted dreams
Broken promises
Seek time’s tender shade

Yesterday too, was in ruins
Now its deserted as well
Life asks for a moment of support

Damp memories
Won’t let me sleep due to grief
Damp memories
Won’t let me live

This is one of my favorite poem. This is my humble attempt to translate it in English.
—————-

O my friend the heart needs no hate.
Everyone loves good but do not even hate bad.

Who does not want the softness of flowers?
But do not be afraid of sharpness of thorns.

There is same blood in the veins of the thorn.
It is brought up by same evening breeze of the spring.

*

Do not throw away dying flowers.
Yesterday, they were the beauties of the garden.

Once they were also part of the world of scents.
O passerby! Do not kick dust on their leaves.

Though they are no longer in the party.
They were raised in the laps of the morning breeze.

*

Living or not living, all are basically one.
Earth and heavens, both were made from one.

There are millions of idol, but God is one.
All hearts are different, but feeling is one.

They sell same clothes, but shops are different.
The meanings are the same, but the languages are different.

*

The lightkeeper is also human.
And the one who is lost in the dark sea is also human.

The best friend is also human.
And the worst enemy is also human.

It doesn’t matter if you run away from death or life.
But, O Human! Never run away from human.