The mature ones are a sea
by Yunus EmreEnglish version by Kabir Helminski & Refik Algan
Original Language Turkish
The mature ones are a sea.
A lover is needed to take the plunge,
a diver to bring up a pearl.
When you have brought
the pearl to the surface,
a jeweler is needed to know its worth.
Stay on the road until you arrive.
Be speechless. Don't become a salesman.
Find an 'Ali to follow.
Muhammed knew Truth in himself.
Truth is present everywhere.
You only need eyes to see it.
Ask your daily sustenance from Truth,
the only Apportioner. Find someone
who is master of his ego.
The lovers asked me to sing.
Someone without greed is needed
to complete what is started.
Sufi, who are you kidding?
Can anyone but Truth
satisfy a human need?
Truth's place is in the heart.
There is a verse in the Quran -- In soul
love has a tower higher than the throne of Creation.
I've gone crazy on this Way.
I can't tell day from night.
The arrow of Love has pierced my heart.
Come, poor Yunus, come,
hold the hands of the mature.
In their humility is a cure.
 | -- from The Drop That Became the Sea: Lyric Poems of Yunus Emre, Translated by Kabir Helminski / Translated by Refik Algan |
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