http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjn3NZuCj38 Were all really three butterflies In the world of love, we are a legend The first came near the candle and said “I have found the meaning of love” The second fluttered its wing near the flame and said, “I’ve been burned by the fire of love” The third threw himself into the fire Yes,…
Rumi-Dancing Atoms
My translation: Arise oh day! The atoms are dancing! For him the spheres and wind are dancing Souls ecstatic with joy are dancing I’ll whisper in your ear where they are dancing Each atom in the wind or desert Is good-natured, like this, we are enchanted Each atom, whether happy or sad Is…
Rumi – I do not know myself
What is to be done, O Muslims? for I do not know myself. I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Magian, nor Muslim. I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea; I am not of Nature’s quarry, nor of the heaven circling above….
Quevedo-Love Constant Beyond Death
Amor Constante Mas Allá de la Muerte (Love Constant Beyond Death) By Francisco de Quevedo Translation by A.Z. Foreman That terminal shadow may with darkness seal my eyes shut when it steals white day from me, and in an instant, flattering the zeal of this my eager soul, let it go free. But on this…
Andalusi Mawwal-Take the cup round
Haz circular la copa It’s amazing what you can do with two verses… فَأدِر كأس من أُحِبُّ وأهْوى فَهوى من أُحِبُّ عَين صَلاحي لوْ سَقاهَا لميِّت عاد حَيًّا فَهي روحي وَ راحة الأرْواحِ Translation: Take…
Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba-Fuzti (A poem for Sayyidatna Maryam)
Original: فزت بظرف الحسنات سيدة لمحسنات مريم فقت موقنات عند الذي لم يدرك كن فيكون لك قاد خير رسول لا انتقاد وبك فاز ذو اعتقاد ولم يكن بمشرك لم يخف عند المؤمنين كونك حب المذعنين يا أم خير محسنين معصومة من شرك يقودني لمدحك ما عنك فضلا قد حكي فزت ببشر مضحك كلِّ تَقِيٍّ…
Ibn al-Farid-Be haughty becasue that’s your right
as sung by the remarkable Saad Temsamani تهْ دلالاً فأنتَ أهلٌ لذاكا وتَحكّمْ، فالحُسْنُ قد أعطاكَا ولكَ الأمرُ فاقضِ ما أنتَ قاضٍ فعلّي الجمالُ قدْ ولاّكا Translation: Be haughty, because you’re worth it, and have your way Because of what beauty has given you The command is yours, so judge what you’re the judge of Because…
Vide Cor Meum (See My Heart)
A nice libretto based on the third chapter of Dante’s La Vita Nuova Vide Cor Meum Italian/Latin Chorus: E pensando di lei Mi sopragiunse uno soave sonno Ego dominus tuus Vide cor tuum E d’sto core ardendo Cor tuum (Chorus: Lei paventosa) Umilmente pascea Appreso gir lo ne vedea piangendo La letizia si convertia In…
Ibn al-Fāriḍ: My heart told me… -ابن الفارض : قلبي يحدّثني
A portion of one of my all-time favorite poems, beautifully recited قلْبي يُحدّثُني بأنّكَ مُتلِفي روحي فداكَ عرفتَ أمْ لمْ تعرفِ لم أقضِ حقَّ هَوَاكَ إن كُنتُ الذي لم أقضِ فيهِ أسى…
The Poetry of Prayer- صلاة مشيشة
Although not strictly speaking poetry, the famous prayer of the Maghribi Shaykh ‘abd as-Salaam ibn Mashish on the Prophet of Islam, joins beautiful and profound symbolism with an nearly equally profound beauty of sound. Every poem seems tinged with prayer, and every sincere prayer bears the perfume of poetry, as these recitations show: …