I am drunk and you are insane
tell me, who will lead us home?
How many times have I asked you not to drink so much
for I see no sober soul in town.
Come to the tavern my dearest and taste the wine of love
for the soul is joyous only in the company of lovers.
The tavern of love is your livelihood
your income and expenses, the wine.
Be careful, not to trust a sober soul
with even one drop of this wine.
Go on playing your lute, my drunken gypsy but tell me,
between the two of us, who is more drunk?
As I left my house a Sufi approached me,
in his glance I saw a hundred gardens.
He swayed from side to side like a ship without an anchor,
while a hundred reasonable men watched on enviously.
Where are you from? I asked him.
He replied, "Half from Turkistan and half from Farghaneh,
half from water and clay and half from soul and heart,
half from the edge of the sea and half from the depths
of the ocean."
Then I am no stranger to you, I said and asked him
to befriend me.
He said, "I make no distinctions between friends and strangers.
I've lost my heart and thrown away my turban
to dwell in the tavern of love.
My heart is heavy with words I want to say to you.
I have given you this advice before but you ignored it.
If you live with the lame you will only learn to limp."
Once the Prophet leaned against a tree to rest
and when he left even the tree cried from the pain of separation.
Shams, now that you have stirred my heart do not desert me!
Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi r.a 1207-1273 AD
