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Salute to Wine
"Pour the wine, oh heart, for impassioned we are
So drunk that strangers to ourselves we are"
Greetings, ruby-red tears of a hearty drink!
Your vines a blessing to earth did bring!
Hail pitchers, full of sighs and regret
Your lips full of laughter and lament
Make the rounds! This ruined pile set right
The drinker's night of pain make bright!
Fill my heart so full of gladness
That shoots shall smile, when from my earth they surface
That wine with which a friend's memory we commemorate
Where glows a warmth which winter from spring appropriates
Serve that wine that such distinction lends
That stones, flowers and I, with love can blend
Bring that wine the colour of God
Colour of praise, colour of prayer
Pour, and up high, with spread wings I'll fly
A tent I'll pitch, a rainbow in the sky
Bring me that wine of blossom tears
Pour it - a canary's heartfelt cry one hears
That wine that in the cup carouses
Greetings on all existence showers
In sorrow my heart sits, head bent on knee
My heart as sad as a heavy heart can be
***
Wine server, for you my life I'll give - show me a smile
From which a drop to borrow, to sip a while
While that wine soothes my pain
The world will play at marbles in my brain
Under the rain I'll go, get slightly wet
Become a flower, or a pigeon, for a sec
Become a tipsy crow, a croak to raise
With my black colour a spring I'll trace
Its flowers and trees of black I'll draw
In the garden of my heart kingship I'll know
Wine, give me wine, for my sea's on fire
The wings of Siyavash are in danger dire
From that wine that made the chalice reel
Just Majnoun? His Leili was drunk for real
That wine which to Farhad's lips a smile will bring
And make the mountain a drunken caper skip
From that wine that Spring to a garden lends
And on dark nights, light on houses sheds
From the song of seedlings, the smile of streams
A wine! For I have wakened from my dreams.
Wrap me up in drink, for again I've been shamed
The dafdaf daf of desire has me defamed.
To the haunting tunes of a tar
Drag me to the street of the yar
The song and silence of that rabab
Left me defeated, destroyed - kharab!
On the chang's silken strings a happy tune play
The roots of sorrow, from your garden to allay!
Serve that wine that both grief and gladness inebriates
The grape, the pitcher and us intoxicates
That wine, when drunk to the tune of the oud
The Kavir of your heart becomes the Zendé Roud
That wine that bitter aahs does symbolise
I shall drink, and like Joseph, from the well shall rise
From wine so filled with light that Mani could trace
A world as bright as heaven's face
That wine, which after a taste of Shams
To a new moon in the skies gave rise
The wine of ghazals! Where is the poet of Shiraz?
Where the wine jug always sang of romance
Pour the wine of Khayam quatrains
The sorrow of the age, give to the days
The wine of Anal Haq to me present
Mansour to become, agitation to beget
A wine that will burn, even if iron I be
Nothing but Truth in my shirt to see
The wine that Neema drank
When in Manzadaran, of Reera he sang
From Kashan, the wine of Golastan pour
A drop from its 'heech', deep in the soul
A round of that vintage award
That Tahereh drank at the banquet of her Lord
If from plunder ishq was secure
Its crown, upon man's head, would endure
A Forough, from your wine jar bring
From your wheat sheaf, summon a spring
Come wine server, to rain lets change
A necklace for the leaves to range
Dance the drunken dance of a willow wind-blown
For the bird of joy to the desert has flown
Flap your wings, up high to fly
Not past or future, but Now to cry
A wine that makes me bloom again
A child once more, astride a cane
A perfumed wine named after my king
Sweetly wafting from the smiles of spring
A fragrant wine after the beloved named
In whom garden scents are sweetly framed
Server, that green drop of an aah do pour
That from the angels and the moon they brought
Wine of the lilies of the valley pour
From the tipsy song of an atom's core
That inebriated ruby-red wine bring
For the moon to revel in the bubbling spring
A drink from Reera's wine do bring
A sip from the sigh of the sea to drink
A wine sloshed from blasphemy and defilement
Since to the four winds I've thrown all attachment
Serve that wine that will make me swirl
As a glass, in wine lovers' hands to twirl
Inebriated and naked, the mountain I'll climb
Free of degradation, a human sublime
Of ishq if I drink, free I shall be
Like Hallaj, I too, God-like shall be
A world I'll create all justice and mercy
Full of happiness, fervour and ecstacy
A world of love and wisdom of the wise
Where people, up to the angels can rise
A new man born, young to be
Life to live, happy to be
By sparkling wine and tavern houses
By the fragile hearts of glittering glasses
I swear:
For all that is impassioned my life I'll offer
A sacrificial offering to tomorrow I'll proffer!
Autumn 1999
***************************************************************
Garden of Contemplation
To the garden of contemplation let's go
To the contemplation of tomorrow's sun let's go
By you, by the Friend I swear
My heart but the praise of his name so fair
By wine cups, wine casks and wine houses
By the bright sparkle of wine glasses
By the strange encounter with the sigh of a stream
By the dazzling colour of a drop of sleep
By the silken charm and spell of the flute
And a heart set alight by the cup's salute
By a roof full of pigeons, by a pool full of moons
By a look full of longings, by the sadness of a mood
By your cheerful song, my own Reera
By your name and that of Neema
By the flight of a butterfly from a chrysalis
By the vivid colour of an amaryllis
By justice, by peace, by knowledge
By a planet joyful, beautiful and acknowledged.
By that dance at the foot of the gallows
By that retreat in the company of the Friend:
The shells of his sea were delighted
The pearls of his heart were sighted
It is I! Said Hallaj, my life, my soul
My crown, my ascension, my all
I am the Truth! It is I! Hang me
For this is the love that to my beloved drives me
My ashes turned to light, to celebration
My soul brimful with fervent animation
From my body I soared to sheer skies
Nothing but a speck of dust in those heights
Since both feathers and wings are on fire
A hundred dawns from your ashes shall rise
Longing to soar on the wings of that wine
Nothing but sighs in my shirt you'll find
My heart, by sorrow fired
My wine, so drunk, to the cask retired
See the sighs, burning, glowing
The bowl of my heart full to overflowing
What a fire Anal Haq set alight
It burnt wine server, wine cup and wine
The gallows with flowers so veiled
That my heart-strings the wine cup craved
My throat tasted that fire of fires
That dragged even Satan to hellfire
My daf gave rise to the dafdaf of melodies
Filling hearts with such sweet harmonies
Stability has slipped from the hands of this world
For the conquest of tomorrow its flag is unfurled
From the hearts of horses neighing takes shape
From the cry of the brave leopards escape
Come, let me take you the spectacle to see
To the top of tomorrow's mountain run with me
There to light a lamp from my heart and soul
There the city of tomorrow for you to behold
*****
A Spring that's an outburst of colour upon colour
A feast filled with melodies of lyre upon lyre
A Spring all dressed in song and celebration
A happy Spring, full of praise and adulation
A Spring full of happiness, of grace and benediction
Flower-kissed messengers bearing salutations
A Spring where Leili to Majnoon draws near
A red rose, with olive-branch shyness appears
The Friend's embrace everywhere this Spring
Upon his shoulders reigns this Spring
Violets run riot under a rain of colour
Into a leopard has changed the sad-eyed lover
A land where the heart is a garden of mirrors
And bright the paths of those shining spirits
A land where walls are of sunlight
Windows and doors patches of moonlight
In a city in the hands of a Lover/King
I'll care for you, careful watch I'll keep
Stars upon earth angels shall sprinkle
Drops of ishq from vines shall splash
Land will be everyone's home and garden
Deserts bright wheat-fields will ripen
With muscle-power iron will dance
Compassionate humanity the world will enhance
With ingenious imagination and the marvel of achievement
From steel will issue a drunken smile of contentment
Swords without name, without mention
Spirits unscarred by chains and detention
****
Come, in the taverns of a Balkh restored
A bitter cup of drink to pour
To Shiraz let us bow in prayers
Those wondrous heights of verse and rhymes
Come, to Tabriz lets fly
Guests in the retreat of Shams a while
To Neyshapour our way lets wing
For a jug of wine, of love, to sing
All seven regions of the world realms of the Friend
If a wine does exist, by his perfume it's inspired
To the street of the darvish let's go
On a mountain of fire into a salamander to grow
With audacity let's extend the hand of friendship
Victims of love and reckless comradeship
With mystic masters, of that no-thing 'heech' let's drink
From this earth to high heaven lets wing
****
Come, to the pigeon's perch let's fly
Grow tall for a moment, like flames, rise high
Come, with a kiss, to love let's succumb
A sacrifice to poppy hearts become
Come, as buds and blossoms in the sun
Under a refreshing shower of songs to run
Come, naked, into winter let's change
Become that drop of a drinker's pain
Come, as a raven, some autumn garden grace
A dawn, for a single crow to trace
Ourselves as children's stories let's devise
For them to read us in the book of lives
Come, become a hobby horse, a train
The championship of goodness to attain
With a pomegranate a child's grief allay
Its gentle heart tranquil to play
On his roof place the sun
A feast at his table seat
Look, the herb seller has come once more
Basil and mint on his back galore
Hey! He calls, Nowruz is here again
Sunny daffodils nights into days array
Come, poppies I have, chalices of dawn
A flower by God's kisses drawn
Come, my willow tree has combed its crest
My swallow, in my heart, has its nest
Come raven, good news do bring
My beacon: your coal-black wing
Come, to the garden of contemplation let's go
Tomorrow's human beings to know
Spring 2001
Sometimes, When I am I, Myself
At times like a love-lorn jasmine
Upon my shoulder her head
She lays and stories tells.
For her charms, at her feet
My life I'll lay.
Sometimes on fire I am, at times, happier than happy I am
At times I pour down upon you, enticing rain that I am
Sometimes the tear of a tar I am, at times laughter of a daf
Which ever way you drag me, further still I draw you on
On one hand you spurn me, on the other you lead me on
A disdainful distant light I am, a tipsy tippler, gone
Sometimes a burning reed, the reed-bed of hearts I burn
Then with the drumbeat of disorder, to defiant rebellion I turn
Sometimes a deceitful devil, I drag you from side to side
At times an angel I become, a Satan of hellfire I am
Sometimes, with a heartfelt sigh, I set fire to the Milky Way
At times, through a blaze, unscathed, I see my way
Sometimes a shining shooting star, at times a circle in a pool
A short-lived drop can ruin me, but another can revive
Sometimes a tear drop, from the eye of sadness falling
Many a flame of woe, upon everything I throw
Sometimes as a leaf, for dew a smile I have.
Brimming with delight, its bowl and goal I am
Beloved of a poppy, round its stem I twine
Sometimes, in fields of battle, a riotous sword I am
Sometimes like a child, in your lap I sleep
When stories you tell, silent and quiet I keep
Sometimes like a vision, I'll colour all creation
On its paper, everyone's sun I'll draw, for decoration
Sometimes like sand, in the heave of a drunken wave I roll
Sometimes, for a pool of love, its naked moon I am
Sometimes, like leaves, at autumn's feet I fall
The rainbow of my robes, its storm of colour I'll call
Sometimes the colour of a sigh, or the green song of the moon
When autumn comes, its burnished yellow clothes I am
At times, the purple of entreaty, at others, darkness of a cry
But should rain fall, its bright rainbow I'll style
Sometimes, behind an elbow, my head on knee will sag
My small sorrows, like my shadow, everywhere I drag
Sometimes, from my throat, a crowing cock cries out
Where's the music maker you'd ask, his drunken strings I am
Scatter me round sometimes, as candy to rain back
My crown and head I'll offer, adventurer that I am
Earth, wind and cloud I am, drunken grape of the vine
Beguiling guitar and winsome server of the wine
Should you so wish, leave me, or else my destiny decide
Should you so wish, remain, or a taste of sorrow ordain
If you so wish, in my arms, on my shoulder place your head
You'd think you are a sun that on my back I bear
A broken line I am, a book already closed
A tomorrow long gone, from memory all disposed
At times you are my refuge, for lack of it I grieve
In pain I call: Where are you? There, my sorrow I'll heave
Sometimes a young crow, sometimes a magpie
A nothing I am. No, something that needs to fly
To fly to his rooftop - to fall fully in his trap
You'd say Mahmood has perished - but the Buddha of his soul I am
At times there was no Mahmood - just a daf and an oud
Which quietly whispered: a no-thing of his no-thingness I am.
Winter 2000
Glory of Spring
Winter wildness broken, glory of a new day
Bird-call and clamour, Spring has come this way
Lyres tight clasped and ready, gardens bougainvila-dyed
Foot in stirrup, a dandelion seed prepares to glide
Poppies a riot run, fire-flowers on a mountain-side
Victory is here, when ishq as king shall stride
Green herbs everywhere, green flags of Spring
In flight, horses and horsemen wing
Patiently, the plain awaits the moment of encounter
Rushing down the slopes, laughing, runs the river
In this din and disorder, where do I end?
My only refuge - embrace of the Friend
Summer 1989
City of Friends
The days of horsemen are at an end
Noble knights once more, this way will wend
Winter's awe and authority shall not survive
The spring crier's floral cavalcade shall arrive
Wine server of the heart, cup of joy in hand
Joyful and happy, among the mourners shall stand
All agog, the tuneful nightingale proclaims: the day of union is at hand
And in the garden, riding a flower, it lands
Canaan, now flooded with light, the city of friends revives
Joseph's fragrance, on a perfumed breeze arrives
The realm of ishq shall come, an asheq at the helm shall stand
The realm's robe of honour, from the hopes of the hopeful shall land
Summer 1988
The 'Welcome Crier'
Heaps and heaps of flowers, in the sky I want to scatter
Cover the earth completely, with roses and attar
Soldiers of light to make, darkness to put to flight
Sun, moon and the Milky Way, to my home invite
Love and loyalty, like royalty I'll crown
In humanity's domain, kings and commanders of renown
Dens of oppression I'll overthrow, houses of sorrow lay low
Joy, justice and compassion, to humanity's cradle bestow
To idols of oppression, an infidel I'll be
My own idols I'll smash, idol makers I'll flee
This world will finally come round, surely it's arrival will sound
A move I must make - this house I'll shower - with a flood of flowers.
Autumn 1989
Daughter of Sun and Moon
I am a light
Dark mantle of a garden
!In gardens and deserts I belong
Sovereign in my heart's retreat.
Passionate essence of a tree.
Leafless leaves my mantle
Snow flakes my crown
Shoulders of the wind my throne
Silent sister of a sigh
Daughter of the sun and moon
Harbinger of glad tidings, arriving.
Colour of wakefulness, scent of night
Dark beauty of a croak!
I love to rain.
I'm a flag!
Lantern of a garden I am!
I'm a raven! A black raven! A black raven I am!
Mantle
Madness was getting the upper hand
From the tight-drawn bow, the swallow's fervour fled.
One deep sigh,
Wings wide open,
The dancing gypsy to the mountain sped.
Anklets jangling, hands a-clapping, daf dafdafing
In her breast, the pearl of ishq
Beating on the drum of a shell.
Hey! There you are
High up you are
Tomorrow you are.
Atop your heart
A rainbow bright.
So now, that pomegranate of ishq become!
Seed it, one by one!
Till each seed, a precious pearl becomes!
And like coloured marbles of the heart
To a child bestow this world
With which to play,
Its problems to allay.
(for Bahiyeh)
Visions
Our visions are in black and white
But none have dreamt in the colours I have.
I have dreamt that awake I am
And ishq is king.
Tomorrow
One day
I shall have the right
To
Drink: Blue
Wear: Yellow
Laugh: Green
And in my heart
Have a rainbow
Of aspirations.
Homeland
My homeland is where
Blue is blue
Happiness is the measure of happiness
And where one is not asked:
What is the colour of a smile?
I wonder:
Is ishq yellow
Dark blue
Has no colour at all?
My homeland is where I know all the birds by name.
Free
I get drenched
In the downpour of light,
The blue light of the moon.
From the happy rush of the wind I drink
The brief blue of a sigh.
I get drunk
From the blue scent of a jasmine flower.
Blue I become,
In the wind
In the moonlight
Dark
Dark I want you
- with no passing light -
Autumn I want you
- with no leaves -
Thirsty I want you
Like soil
Like salt.
Just one Aah! not a thousand!
A breastful of separation
An eyeful of gazing
One sigh full of waiting...
Two Songs For Your Heart
(Happiness)
A downpour
Washed all the songs from my roof
And took them all away.
The sea
Became a kiss
And passionate birds
Drank that kiss away.
(Tears)
A downpour washed the elegies from my roof
And took them all away
The sea
Cried
And passionate birds
Kissed the tears away.
Glossary
Anal Haq: I am the Truth - soufi ecstatic pronouncement famously declared by Hussein Mansour Hallaj in his realization of the oneness of being and union with God.
Balkh: A city with a long history and known as the birthplace of Iranian mysticism.
Daf, oud, tar,
rabab, chang: Musical instruments used in Iran over the centuries.
Darvish: Roving mystic.
Hallaj, Hussein
Mansour: Well known Iranian Sufi master put to death and then burnt by an Abbasid caliph in Baghdad.
Heech: No-thing, in the sense that it is beyond material description.
Ishq: Passionate mystical love for the Beloved, which for the mystic constitutes the driving force of life and evolution towards Truth and Reality.
Kharab: Lost to one’s self.
Mani: Iranian mystic, philosopher and founder of Manicheism in the 3rd century AD, a religion that spread to India, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Neema: Poet of the last century credited for being the father of modern Persian poetry.
Nowruz: Iranian New Year.
Reera: Woman’s name.
Shams: Soufi darvish and spiritual guide and inspiration of Jalal ud-Deen Rumi.
Siyavash: Iranian prince in Ferdowsi’s Shahnamé who passed through a ring of fire unscathed as proof of his innocence.
Yar: Friend or Beloved.
Zendé Roud: A river in central Iran. |
صفحه اصلي 
