JC: That which has no clue

Rumi, from Ghazels, translated by Kabir Helminsky

found in The Pocket Rumi, Edited by Kabir Helminsky, published by Shambala Pocket Classics

That which has no clue

At the last you vanished, gone to the Unseen.

Strange the path you took out of this world.

Strange how your beating wings demolished the cage,

and you flew away to the world of the soul.

You were some old woman’s favorite falcon

but when you heard the Falcon Drum

you escaped to the placeless.

You were a drunken nightingale among owls,

but when the scent of the rose garden reached you,

you were gone.

The bitter wine you drank with us left it’s headache,

but at last you entered a timeless tavern.

Like an arrow you went straight for the target of bliss,

straight to the mark like an arrow from a bow.

Like a ghoul, the world tried to deceive you,

with it’s false clues-

but you ignored the clues, 

and went straight to that which has no clue.

Now that you are the sun, what good is a crown?

and how do you tie your belt

now that you have no middle?

Heart, what a rare bird you are, that in your yearning for heaven’s attention.

you flew to the spear-point like a shield!

The rose flees autumn, but what a foolhardy rose you are,

seeking the autumn wind.

You were rain from another world

that fell upon this dusty earth.

You ran in all directions and escaped down the gutter.

Be silent. Be free

of the pain of speech.

Don’t sleep since you took refuge

with so loving a friend.