{"id":5923,"date":"2017-10-23T09:09:09","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T16:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=5923"},"modified":"2017-10-23T09:09:44","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T16:09:44","slug":"yunus-emre-a-single-word-can-brighten-the-face-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/23\/yunus-emre-a-single-word-can-brighten-the-face-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Yunus Emre – A single word can brighten the face"},"content":{"rendered":"

A single word can brighten the face
\nby Yunus Emre<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Kabir Helminski & Refik Algan<\/font><\/p>\n

A single word can brighten the face
\nof one who knows the value of words.
\nRipened in silence, a single word
\nacquires a great energy for work.<\/p>\n

War is cut short by a word,
\nand a word heals the wounds,
\nand there\u2019s a word that changes
\npoison into butter and honey.<\/p>\n

Let a word mature inside yourself.
\nWithhold the unripened thought.
\nCome and understand the kind of word
\nthat reduces money and riches to dust.<\/p>\n

Know when to speak a word
\nand when not to speak at all.
\nA single word turns the universe of hell
\ninto eight paradises.<\/p>\n

Follow the Way. Don\u2019t be fooled
\nby what you already know. Be watchful.
\nReflect before you speak.
\nA foolish mouth can brand your soul.<\/p>\n

Yunus, say one last thing
\nabout the power of words \u2014
\nOnly the word \u201cI\u201d
\ndivides me from God.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from The Drop That Became the Sea: Lyric Poems of Yunus Emre<\/a>, Translated by Kabir Helminski \/ Translated by Refik Algan<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Graham Keen<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

Here we are with a rare Monday poem email\u2026<\/p>\n

A single word can brighten the face
\nof one who knows the value of words.<\/i><\/p>\n

This is one of my favorite poems by Yunus Emre, but I have never really written up a good commentary to accompany it. Perhaps it is because it is a poem about words, the singular power of words, or the power of a singular word \u2014 and I don\u2019t want my meditative ramblings to take away from the poem itself. It says it all so beautifully.<\/p>\n

Ripened in silence, a single word
\nacquires a great energy for work.<\/i><\/p>\n

I love that line. I have been busy with my day job of late, and I haven\u2019t been resting in deep meditation as much as I would like. The outer world has required a lot of energy from me lately. Yet I have still managed to catch moments of silence gently flowing beneath the activity. That\u2019s where the ripening happens.<\/p>\n

War is cut short by a word,
\nand a word heals the wounds,
\nand there\u2019s a word that changes
\npoison into butter and honey.<\/i><\/p>\n

I think this verse is the heart of the poem for me. I read it over and over again.<\/p>\n

I think will say no more today, and let Yunus have the final word\u2013<\/p>\n

Yunus, say one last thing
\nabout the power of words \u2014
\nOnly the word \u201cI\u201d
\ndivides me from God.<\/i><\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Yunus Emre<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology)<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nPoetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nMusic of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Drop That Became the Sea: Lyric Poems of Yunus Emre<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nQuarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"Yunus<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nYunus Emre<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Turkey (1238 \u2013 1320) Timeline<\/a>
\nMuslim \/ Sufi<\/a><\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Yunus Emre is considered by many to be one of the most important Turkish poets. Little can be said for certain of his life other than that he was a Sufi dervish of Anatolia. The love people have for his liberating poetry is reflected in the fact that many villages claim to be his birthplace, and many others claim to hold his tomb. He probably lived in the Karaman area.<\/p>\n

His poetry expresses a deep personal mysticism and humanism and love for God.<\/p>\n

He was a contemporary of Rumi, who settled in the same region after having moved from what is today Afghanistan. Rumi composed his collection of stories and songs for a well-educated urban circle of Sufis, writing primarily in the literary language of Persian. Yunus Emre, on the other hand, traveled and taught among the rural poor, singing his songs in the Turkish language of the common people.<\/p>\n

A story is told of a meeting between the two great souls: Rumi asked Yunus Emre what he thought of his great work the Mathnawi. Yunus Emre said, \u201cExcellent, excellent! But I would have done it differently.\u201d Surprised, Rumi asked how. Yunus replied, \u201cI would have written, \u2018I came from the eternal, clothed myself in flesh, and took the name Yunus.'\u201d That story perfectly illustrates Yunus Emre\u2019s simple, direct approach that has made him so beloved.<\/p>\n

More poetry by Yunus Emre<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A single word can brighten the face by Yunus Emre English version by Kabir Helminski & Refik Algan A single word can brighten the face of one who knows the value of words. Ripened in silence, a single word acquires a great energy for work. War is cut short by a word, and a word […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[193,2012,19,1417,252,2089,753,530],"class_list":["post-5923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-muslim-poetry","tag-power-of-words","tag-sufi-poetry","tag-the-word","tag-turkish-poetry","tag-word","tag-words","tag-yunus-emre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5923"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5925,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5923\/revisions\/5925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}