The Path of the Beautiful

by Asik Ali Izzet

English version by Jennifer Ferraro & Latif Bolat
Original Language Turkish

Appreciating beauty is said to be a virtue.
     To see beauty beautifully
          is beautiful.

Those who have a beautiful beloved in Paradise are beautiful.
     To travel the path of beauty,
          is beautiful.

The sun rises from the beautiful one's eyebrows.
     The beautiful one's teeth are just like pearls.
     To share beautiful food at Beauty's table
          is beautiful.

To linger with the beautiful one beautifully
     is beautiful --

To write the beautiful name:
     beautiful --

To drink with the beautiful one:
     beautiful --

To kiss the hand of the beautiful one:
     beautiful.

The light drips from the cheeks of the beautiful.
     Honey drips from the lips of the beautiful.

Hold the hand of the beautiful beautifully.
     To serve the beautiful one
          is beautiful.

The eyes that perceive beauty will never suffer.
     Who loves beauty may die but will never decay;

Ali Izzet never shies away from beauty --
     To love beauty from the depths of one's soul
          is beautiful.

-- from Quarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey, Translated by Jennifer Ferraro / Translated by Latif Bolat

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

A reminder to us all not to get lost in life's minutia and bruises and anxieties... beneath it all we can always find beauty.

To see beauty beautifully
          is beautiful.


That beauty can be a window that reveals the beautiful one behind it all.

To travel the path of beauty,
          is beautiful.


Beauty is a pathway, a spiritual practice. Bearing witness to beauty takes skill: quiet eyes, a calm heart.

To love beauty from the depths of one's soul
          is beautiful.


May we all discover the beauty in the paths we walk!



Recommended Books: Asik Ali Izzet

Quarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey



The Path of the