Islam

Rûmî, Divan (Davis), “I Am Silent” / “A Cry to the Beloved”

I am silent. Speak Thou, O Soul of Soul of Soul,
From desire of whose Face every atom grew articulate.
Yestereve I delivered to a star tidings for thee:
"Present," I said, "my service to that moon-like form."
I bowed, I said: "Bear that service to the sun
Who maketh hard rocks gold by His burning."
I bared my breast, I showed it the wounds:
"Give news of me," I said, "to the Beloved whose drink is blood."
I rocked to and fro that the child, my heart, might become still;
A child sleeps when one sways the cradle.
Give my heart-babe milk, relieve us from its weeping,
O Thou that helpest every moment a hundred helpless like me.
The heart's home, first to last, is Thy City of Union:
How long wilt Thou keep in exile this heart forlorn?

Source Rûmî, Divan de Shams-i Tabrîz, extraits traduits par R. A. Nicholson (1898) et al., in F. Hadland Davis, The Persian Mystics: Jalálu’d-dín Rúmí (1907), gutenberg.org #45159 · Contents