Love must first drag you

by Farid ud-Din Attar

English version by Sholeh Wolpé
Original Language Persian/Farsi

Love must first drag you
beyond wisdom and common sense
before it flips you inside out,
turns you upside down.

The first step in erasing who you are
is to make a gift of your life
and to give up trivialities.
Step into the Path if you are bold;
such self-sacrifice is no game.

-- from The Conferences of the Birds, by Attar / Translated by Sholeh Wolpé

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Recommended Books: Farid ud-Din Attar

Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from Sufi Wisdom The Conferences of the Birds
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Love must first