Rumi Poems by Shahram Shiva

RUMI ODES & QUATRAINS
by Shahram Shiva

© Copyright Shahram Shiva. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate without permission.
Simple sharing on social networking sites or personal blogs are OK only with proper source credit.
All poems are from Shahram Shiva's book
Hush Don't Say Anything to God: Passionate Poems of Rumi
(Jain Publishing)

Last night,
I saw the realm of joy and pleasure.
There I melted like salt;
no religion, no blasphemy,
no conviction or uncertainty remained.
In the middle of my heart,
a star appeared,
and the seven heavens were lost in its brilliance.

A true Lover doesn't follow any one religion,
be sure of that.
Since in the religion of Love,
there is no irreverence or faith.
When in Love,
body, mind, heart and soul don't even exist.
Become this,
fall in Love,
and you will not be separated again.

You think you are alive
because you breathe air?
Shame on you,
that you are alive in such a limited way.
Don't be without Love,
so you won't feel dead.
Die in Love
and stay alive forever.

Bring the pure wine of
love and freedom.
But sir, a tornado is coming.
More wine, we'll teach this storm
A thing or two about whirling.

My head is bursting
with the joy of the unknown.
My heart is expanding a thousand fold.
Every cell,
taking wings,
flies about the world.
All seek separately
the many faces of my love.

I am so drunk
I have lost the way in
and the way out.
I have lost the earth, the moon, and the sky.
Don't put another cup of wine in my hand,
pour it in my mouth,
for I have lost the way to my mouth.

To Love is to be God.
Never will a Lover's chest
feel any sorrow.
Never will a Lover's robe
be touched by mortals.
Never will a Lover's body
be found buried in the earth.
To Love is to be God.

I am drumming,
I am drumming,
I am drumming
for my Love's ever nearing union.
They say get a life.
What is all this drumming?
I swear to that Love,
the day that I stop drumming,
is the day that I will stop living.

I said, meet me in the garden.
You know the one--
it is called Smiling Spring.
There are nightingales chirping away,
wine and candle lights,
and companions as soft as
pomegranate blossoms.
You think this all would sound so perfect!
But without you by my side,
what use is the Smiling Spring?
And when you are with me,
what use are pomegranate blossoms?

I am an atom;
you are like the countenance of the Sun for me.
I am a patient of Love
you are like medicine for me.
Without wings, without feathers,
I fly about looking for you.
I have become a rose petal
and you are like the wind for me.
Take me for a ride.

The Lover is ever drunk with Love.
He is mad,
she is free.
He sings with delight,
she dances with ecstasy.
Caught by our own thoughts,
we worry about everything.
But once we get drunk on that Love
whatever will be, will be.

Love is best when mixed with anguish.
In our town,
we won't call you a Lover
if you escape the pain.
Look for Love in this way,
welcome it to your soul,
and watch your spirit fly away in ecstasy.

It is your turn now,
you waited, you were patient.
The time has come,
for us to polish you.
We will transform your inner pearl
into a house of fire.
You're a gold mine.
Did you know that,
hidden in the dirt of the earth?
It is your turn now,
to be placed in fire.
Let us cremate your impurities.

The Lovers
will drink wine night and day.
They will drink until they can
tear away the veils of intellect and
melt away the layers of shame and modesty.
When in Love,
body, mind, heart and soul don't even exist.
Become this,
fall in Love,
and you will not be separated again.

Love rests on no foundation.
It is an endless ocean,
with no beginning or end.
Imagine,
a suspended ocean,
riding on a cushion of ancient secrets.
All souls have drowned in it,
and now dwell there.
One drop of that ocean is hope,
and the rest is fear.

I am powerless by Love's game.
How can you expect me
to behave and act modest?
How can you expect me
to stay at home,
like a good little boy?
How can you expect me
to enjoy being chained like a mad man?
Oh, my love, you will find me every night,
on your street,
with my eyes glued to your window,
waiting for a glimpse of your radiant face.

To heal the burning of your sorrow,
I seek a flame.
To gather the dust of your door,
I seek the palms of my hands.
To deal with you hiding behind your holiness,
I seek a good time instead.

Tonight
is the night.
It's the creation of that land of eternity.
It's not an ordinary night,
it's a wedding of those who seek Love.
Tonight, the bride and groom
speak in one tongue.
Tonight, the bridal chamber
is looking particularly bright.

When we talk about the witness in our verse,
we talk about you.
A pure heart and a noble demeanor
cannot compete with your radiant face.
They will ask you
what you have produced.
Say to them,
except for Love,
what else can a Lover produce?

My head is bursting
with the joy of the unknown.
My heart is expanding a thousand fold.
Every cell,
taking wings,
flies about the world.
All seek separately
the many faces of my love.

Love came,
and became like blood in my body.
It rushed through my veins and
encircled my heart.
Everywhere I looked,
I saw one thing.
Love's name written
on my limbs,
on my left palm,
on my forehead,
on the back of my neck,
on my right big toe…
Oh, my friend,
all that you see of me
is just a shell,
and the rest belongs to love.

I am in Love!
All this advise--
what's the use?
I have drunk poison.
All this sugar
what's the use?
You say hurry,
tie up his feet.
But its my heart that's gone crazy,
all this rope
around my feet--
what's the use?

There is a certain Love
that is formed out of the
elixir of the East.
There is a certain cloud,
impregnated with a
thousand lightnings.
There is my body,
in it an ocean formed of his glory,
all the creation,
all the universes,
all the galaxies,
are lost in it.

I wish I could give you a taste of
the burning fire of Love.
There is a fire
blazing inside of me.
If I cry about it, or if I don't,
the fire is at work,
night and day.
People make clothing to cover their intellect,
but the heart of Lovers
is a shroud,
inflamed in golden hues of Love.

By day I praised you
and never knew it.
By night I stayed with you
and never knew it.
I always thought that
I was me--but no,
I was you
and never knew it.

This world is no match for your Love.
Being away from you
is death aiming to take my soul away.
My heart, so precious,
I won't trade for a hundred thousand souls.
Your one smile takes it for free.

I saw Sorrow
holding a cup of pain.
I said, hey sorrow,
sorry to see you this way.
What's troubling you?
What's with the cup?
Sorrow said,
what else can I do?
All this Joy that you have brought to the world has killed my business completely.

I sipped some of love's sweet wine,
and now I am ill.
My body aches,
my fever is high.
They called in the doctor and he said,
drink this tea!
Ok, time to drink this tea.
He said,
Take these pills!
Ok, time to take these pills.
The doctor said,
And get rid of the sweet wine of love's lips!
Ok, time to get rid of the doctor.

Neither I am me,
nor you are you,
nor you are me.
Also, I am me,
you are you
and you are me.
We have become one
in such a way,
That I am confused whether
I am you,
or you are me.

The Lovers
will drink wine night and day.
They will drink until they can
tear away the veils of intellect and
melt away the layers of shame and modesty.
When in Love,
body, mind, heart and soul don’t even exist.
Become this,
fall in Love,
and you will not be separated again.

Do you know what you are?
You are a manuscript of a divine letter.
You are a mirror reflecting a noble face.
This universe is not outside of you.
Look inside yourself;
everything that you want,
you are already that.

Tonight
is the night.
It is the creation of that land of eternity.
It is not an ordinary night,
It is a wedding of those who seek unity.
Tonight, the bride and groom
speak in one tongue.
Tonight, the bridal chamber
is looking particularly bright.

Go ahead: ask me!
Ask me about Love,
and I will tell you the essence of madness.
Ask me of an intellect gone mad,
and I will show you a soul departed for good.
Ask me of a hundred calamities,
of a hundred life transformations.
Ask me of a hundred deserts engulfed in fire.
Ask me of a hundred oceans red with blood.

The lover is ever drunk with love.
She is free, he is mad,
She sings with delight
As he dances in ecstasy.

Caught by our own thoughts,
We worry about everything.
But once you get drunk on that love.
Whatever will be, will be…

When you dance the whole universe dances.

All the realms spun around you in endless celebration.

Your soul loses its grip.

Your body sheds its fatigue.

Hearing my hands clap and my drum beat,

You begin to whirl.

Tonight,
I see the realm of joy and pleasure.

I've lost myself in it
and it has lost itself in me:
No religion,
No dogma,
No conformity,
No guilt,
No shame,
No fear,
No conviction,
No uncertainty remain.

In the middle of my heart,
a star appears,
and the seven heavens
are lost in its brilliance.

May this marriage be blessed.
May this marriage be as sweet as milk and honey.
May this marriage be as intoxicating as old wine.
May this marriage be fruitful like a date tree.
May this marriage be full of laughter and everyday a paradise.
May this marriage be a seal of compassion for here and hereafter.
May this marriage be as welcome as the full moon in the night sky.
Listen lovers, now you go on, as I become silent and kiss this blessed night.

This is a gathering of Lovers.
In this gathering
there is no high, no low,
no smart, no ignorant,
no special assembly,
no grand discourse,
no proper schooling required.
There is no master,
no disciple.
This gathering is more like a drunken party,
full of tricksters, fools,
mad men and mad women.
This is a gathering of Lovers.

All Rights Reserved
Above poems are from Shahram Shiva's book
Hush Don't Say Anything to God: Passionate Poems of Rumi
(Jain Publishing)
© Copyright Shahram Shiva. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate without permission.
Contact info@rumi.net for rights, publishing and information.