' The Beloved '...

The Beloved is all in all, the lover only veils Him;
The Beloved is all that lives, the lover a dead thing.

When the lover feels no longer Love's quickening,
He becomes like a bird who has lost its wings. Alas!

How can I retain my senses about me,
When the Beloved shows not the light of His countenance?

Love desires that this secret should be revealed,
For if a mirror reflects not, of what use is it?

Knowest thou why thy mirror reflects not?
Because the rust has not been scoured from its face.

If it were purified from all rust and defilement,
It would reflect the shining of the Sun of God.

O friends, ye have now heard this tale,
Which sets forth the very essence of my case."




-Rumi
_The Masnavi_, Book I, Prologue
Translated and abridged by E.H. Whinfield, [1898]