The Song of the Reed

The Song of the Reed

Jalal al-Din Rumi
_{Translated by Reynold A. Nicholson}

_{Listen to the reed how it tells a tale,
complaining of severances—}

_{Saying, "Ever since I was parted from the reed-bed,
my lament hath caused man and woman to moan.}

_{I want a bosom torn by severance,
that I may unfold (to such a one) the pain of love-desire.}

_{Every one who is left far from his source wishes back the time when he was united with it.}

_{In every company I uttered my wailful notes,
I consorted with the unhappy and with them that are glad.}

_{Every one became my neighbor from his own opinion;
none sought out my secrets from within me.}

_{My secret is not far from my plaint,
but ear and eye lack the light (whereby it should be apprehended).}

_{Body is not veiled from soul, nor soul from body,
yet none is permitted to see the soul."}

_{This noise of the reed is fire, it is not wind:
whoso hath not this fire, may he be naught!}

_{'Tis the fire of Love that is in the reed,
'tis the fervor of Love that is in the wine.}

_{The reed is the comrade of every one who has been parted from a friend:
its strains pierced our hearts.}

_{Who ever saw a poison and an antidote like the reed?
Who ever saw a sympathizer and a longing lover like the reed?}

_{The reed tells of the Way full of blood and recounts stories of the passion of Majnun.}

_{Only to the senseless is this sense confided:
the tongue hath no customer save the ear.}

_{In our sorrow the days (of life) have become untimely:
our days move hand in hand with burning griefs.}

_{If our days are gone, let them go!—'tis no matter.
Do Thou remain, for none is holy as Thou art!}

_{Whoever is not a fish becomes sated with His water;
whoever is without daily bread finds the day long.}

_{None that is raw understands the state of the ripe:
therefore my words must be brief. Farewell!}

_{O son, burst thy chains and be free!
How long wilt thou be a bondsman to silver and gold?}

_{If thou pour the whole sea into a pitcher,
how much will it hold? One day's store.}

_{The pitcher, the eye of the covetous,
is never filled: the oyster-shell is not filled with pearls until it is contented.}

1. _{He (only) whose garment is rent by a (mighty) love is purged of covetousness and every defect.}

_{Hail, O Love that bringest us good gain—
thou that art the physician of all our ills,}

_{The remedy of our pride and vainglory,
our Plato and our Galen!}

_{Through Love the earthly body soared to the skies:
the mountain began to dance and became nimble.}

_{Love inspired Mount Sinai, O lover,
(so that) Sinai (was made) drunken and Moses fell in a swoon.}

_{Were I joined to the lip of one in accord with me,
I too, like the reed, would tell all that may be said;}

_{(But) whoever is parted from one who speaks his language becomes dumb,
though he have a hundred songs.}

_{When the rose is gone and the garden faded,
thou wilt hear no more the nightingale's story.}

_{The Beloved is all and the lover (only) a veil;
the Beloved is living and the lover a dead thing.}

_{When Love hath no care for him,
he is left like a bird without wings. Alas for him!}

_{How should I have a clear mind before or behind when the light of my Beloved is not before and behind?}

_{Love wills that this Word should be shown forth:
if the mirror does not reflect, how is that?}

_{Dost thou know why thy mirror reflects nothing?
Because the rust has not been cleared from its face.}

_{If it were purged of all rust and defilement,
it would reflect the light of God's sun.}

_{(Mathnawi I: 1-35)}