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<<Previous Poem | View All Poems by Mahmud Shabistari |

The Wine of Rapture (from The Secret Rose Garden)

Mahmud Shabistari, Mahmud Shabistari poetry, Muslim / Sufi, Muslim / Sufi poetry,  poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry,  poetry by Mahmud Shabistari
(1250? - 1340) Timeline

English version by
Florence Lederer

Original Language
Persian/Farsi

Muslim / Sufi
13th Century

The wine, lit by a ray from his face,
reveals the bubbles of form,
such as the material world and the soul-world,
which appear as veils to the saints.
Universal Reason seeing this is astounded,
Universal Soul is reduced to servitude.

Drink wine! for the bowl is the face of the Friend.
Drink wine! for the cup is his eye, drunken and flown with wine.
Drink wine! and be free from cold-heartedness,
for a drunkard is better than the self-satisfied.

The world is his tavern,
his wine-cup the heart of each atom;
reason is drunken, angels drunken, soul drunken,
air drunken, earth drunken, heaven drunken.

The sky, dizzy with the wine-fumes' aroma,
is staggering to and fro;
the angels, sipping pure wine from goblets,
pour down the dregs to the world.
From the scent of these dregs man rises to heaven.
Inebriated from the draft, the elements
fall into water and fire.
Catching the reflection, the frail body becomes soul,
And the frozen soul by its heat
thaws and becomes living.
The creature world becomes giddy,
forever straying from house and home.

One from the dregs' odor becomes a philosopher.
One viewing the wine's color becomes a relater.
One from half a draft becomes religious.
One from a bowlful becomes a lover.
Another swallows at one draught
goblet, tavern, cupbearer, and drunkards;
he swallows all, but still his mouth stays open.

 

 

-- from The Secret Rose Garden: Mahmud Shabistari, Translated by Florence Lederer / Edited by David Fideler

Amazon.com

 

Themes

  Fire
  Freedom
  Lover and Beloved
  Perfume
  Sky


Recommended Books


Beyond Faith and Infidelity: The Sufi Poetry and Teachings of Mahmud Shabistari, Edited by Leonard Lewisohn
Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from Sufi Wisdom, by Andrew Harvey / Eryk Hanut
The Secret Rose Garden: Mahmud Shabistari, Translated by Florence Lederer / Edited by David Fideler

 

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
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