Rumi (1207 – 1273): What is Love?

Rumi (1207 – 1273): What is Love?
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“What is Love?”, questions me a mate.
I respond to him: “I do not join this debate!”
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“If you become like me, you will see its gate;
Only when it calls you, you shall learn its rate!”
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Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani.
Artwork: Reza Rahimi Lasko.
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***&***
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In Persian:
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پرسید یکی که عاشقی چیست
گفتم که مپرس از این معانی
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آنگه که چو من شوی ببینی
آنگه که بخواندت به خوانی

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Saadi Shirazi (circa 1210): I step with my heart

Saadi Shirazi (circa 1210): I step with my heart
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Sighting The Beloved, your rest flies away,
Don’t expect escape, captured in this tray!

With only your thought, I was mad and blind,
Curtains pulled away, spellbound is my mind!

If in my whole life, one day’s spent with thee,
This is my harvest, the rest sinks in the sea!

Looking for The Beloved, I step with my heart;
Strolling on feet, the journey ends at the start!
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Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani.
Artwork: Iman Maleki.
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***&***
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In Persian:
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هر که دلارام دید از دلش آرام رفت
چشم ندارد خلاص هر که در این دام رفت
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یاد تو می‌رفت و ما عاشق و بی‌دل بدیم
پرده برانداختی کار به اتمام رفت
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گر به همه عمر خویش با تو برآرم دمی
حاصل عمر آن دمست باقی ایام رفت
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ما قدم از سر کنیم در طلب دوستان
راه به جایی نبرد هر که به اقدام رفت

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I was dead inside!

Rumi (1207 – 1273): I was dead inside!
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Said: “You’re not mad in love;
My house, you don’t deserve!”
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I left and came back mad.
Unreason seized my nerve!
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Said: “You’re not wasted drunk;
Your type, I do not serve!”
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I left and drank, jolly I returned;
My care and concerns, fallen in a curve!
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**&**
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I was dead inside, now look at my verve!
From pain and sorrow, to laughter I swerve!
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The star of Love shined,
Fortune filled my reserve!
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Your heart sees the concealed

Hafez (1325 – 1389): Your heart sees the concealed
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Your heart sees the concealed, you hold the crystal grail.
For the gems you can lose, do not fret and flail!
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Do not let the lowly folk, enter your trove inside.
Open your heart to those, who weigh it high in the scale!
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Not all the trees, survive the spite of the fall.
I kneel down to the pine, whose greenness won’t fail!
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If for the fear of thorns…

Hafez (1325 – 1389): If for the fear of thorns…
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A ruby blood floods in your heart, and flows.
Let it earn you the love- of the one you chose!
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You’ll never breathe- in the charm of the rose,
If, for the fear of thorns, you won’t venture close!
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Why to come and return?!

Omar Khayyám (1048 - 1131): Why to come and return?!
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Summoned up to be, anguished we land;
Unwitting of the source, the ending planned!
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No one knows the truth, in this vast strand.
Why to come and return, to a heap of sand?!
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Chocolate

Chocolate

Aren't the piece of chocolate
Suppose to sweeten cheerless mood
The darker is definitely better for the melancholy
The instant panacea curing the ill feelings
In the minute it melt heavenly in mouth

If all would be as simple as it sounds
I'd eat dark chocolate by kilos every day
At point when the occasion strike with hammer's blow
Just pop in , reaching to forbidden kitchen drawer

Not working , I can attest to fact
A little only while munching the desert
The sadness needs something stronger than sugar treat
The shot of hug , the cocktail of kisses with a cherry on the top

by Margaret Gudkov

Embroidery majestic floridness

Embroidery majestic floridness

Fait accompli to Chinese silk light beauty
The song to craftsmanship manifestation
To hands creating miracle equal to nature's

The woman's body harboring inside
Caressed lovingly by fabric soft murmuring
Her curves seeking barely zoetic touch
Celestial breath, mere whisper over skin

She wiggles in the silk embrace
The thighs rubbing in delicious tasting
Bringing desire up a notch while laying on the sheets
The sumptuous sheets seen verboten romps
That children cannot set the eyes on

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Evan Wilson

I am longing to be as free as butterfly

I am longing to be as free as butterfly
Not obligated sit on just one specific flower
Flying without any preordained thought
Adorning sky with multitude of tones
I'd relish nectar on the petals mixed into morning dew
Rest awhile and glide anew till other leaves and blooms
Catch my heart's compass, beckoning to reach out

I'd link amorphous connection, enjoying company
Afterwards saying goodbye , keeping the memory inside
To the untouched destinations, full of exotic stories
How light-weighted you might say, not serious about life
On contrary , I am filled with curiosity limitless horizon
Why bound yourself to same routine
When world present the opportunities abound
Be like butterfly or bird , not chained to the perimeter of space
But going places to partake in role , assigned from birth

by Margaret Gudkov

Nothing can compare to softness of your lips

Nothing can compare to softness of your lips
Surfing with abandon over crevices of mine
No down pillow suffocating snuggling abyss
No cuddly teddy bear from the buried past

I stare at you across the table wanting to touch
Naked under my flimsy dress, burning with fever
Can you read what my eyes advertizing blatantly
Saying not a word , seducing in the silent style

What is it to understand
Masking you embarrassment to permit the truth to fly
I command, beg you to find pretense and go under tablecloth
Indulge my lips in duel of the wills , opening the heaven door

Not courageous enough to balance on the border of absurd
Afraid the judging looks of jealous folks cause mental discomfort
You give me puppy gaze of timid stag first time laying eyes on doe
We on public darling, there are rules of etiquette bound to obey
I say to hell with it, be a pirate , abordaging me...drop the fork on floor and dive through ocean waves

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Jack Vettriano

There the limits

There the limits to the pain you bear

Knowing not when point of no return is reached
The heart assaulted by blitzkrieg of emotions 
Rolling to abyss , the eyes see darkness only
And then... you felt it moral and the physical cross roads

It can happen on the gorgeous sunny day
The weather does not compromise because of you
Nothing change around, the bench, park , lake stay calm
Witnessing deconstruction of person , wriggling in dolor
The inner spasms of desperation, loneliness and sadness
Hidden from the world, they are yours to experience

Anything can trigger the unfortunate event
Listening musicians boogie on the stage
The crowd cheering , dancing, whistling
Abruptly all is stopped inside of you in light of recognition
Another face appear in air, grimacing in return of aching loneliness
You been alone again even while making brave attempt to go out
The life, professional and personal, hanging on the scales
Nothing is settled... the goose did not lay the golden egg

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Eduardo Rodriguez Calzado

What heart is telling you

What heart is telling you

I talk to you
The smile grace the face
But deep inside the pain is drumming
To say I yearn to say the words to make you understand
Petrified to cut the fragile string connecting us

The silky thread of communication
Pulled by both sides not meant for such a pressure
Yet the colloquy should take a place between two sides of love
Not building the resentment in the heart till it's too late to resolve it

I am laughing, making jokes
Unsatisfied in the terms of the fulfillment, hiding angry streak
Grey hair in midst of many others starting to appear with
Regular proclivity,giving me the look of profundity , the wise woman
Which I am not , just trying to survive in the hostile waters

What heart is telling you ,does it feel unhappiness
Brewing to the boiling incalescence in my eyes
The inability of yours to change the things unfolding
Alarmed mentioning the things with open mind
Is hardly what I am looking for

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Sherry Lee Short

You think you know me?

You think you know me?

The dress , the smile, hair brightness
You think you know me just by scanning over
Visually measuring parameters of mine
Accessing inner world the complicated labyrinth
Opening the door , loosing yourself somewhere in the middle

You cannot read the woman
Don't try to be the wise man,knowing all
I prove you wrong at any given moment
Putting to shame the theories of yours
The end become beginning of the new adventure

I am like a lychee, exotic , the eye catching
You peel rough rind to find the sweet surrender
Juice running to the mouth to enhance the pleasure
Don't eat the nut or you will break the teeth
For you I am dream , mirage in desert
The cloud unpredictability , the sun rays
The rain cooling senses in the hot night
You do not know me, endeavoring is useless nonsense
The mystery is my protective shield

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Rina Sutzkever

Singular side of medal

Singular side of medal

The nervous wreck unable to control emotions
Getting insecure with each arising problem on the path
Fretting over the elements that don't deserve attention 
That how you see me from the sidelines

The things I do go beyond faux pas of manners
The root of evil planted in my heart few years back
Setbacks,betrayals, creditors who like a vultures come
Collect the money or collect the soul.. what exactly do you know

I never claimed to be an angel neither devil
Is hard to be one perfect person after devastating shakes
The skin too thin, emotions are too raw.. everything too much
But with all said i know my heart is in the right place
And I blame myself for wrongs that came to knock

You see singular side of medal
Not caring for the story written in my eyes
The raising voice without devious intent , the crying
Meeting the indifference and silence instead of patience
Taking hand in yours , calming with words, with hugs

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Angela BettaCazale

Still life

Still life

Dead nature staring at spectators eyes
Attracting with the morbid cheerlessness of expiration
The flowers decaying into dust in fashion of the movie star
Aging behind the scenes , behind the silence walls
Fruits rotting , emanating fermented odor
Even through the canvas fabric

So beautiful, so full of life moments before
While hand transferring colors on the painting
They are already on the way to disappear to zilch
Food for the birds future generations

The pomegranates losing brightness of the red
Brownish apples scrunching the appearance
The taxidermy birds could not be more dead
The glass in pupils shining in unnatural bearing
We calling it still life, French call it nature mort
Dead nature propagate life stillness, everything come to stop
Halting activities in core, everything becoming particle for universe foundation

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Luis Egidio Melendez Bodegón

We walking on the beach

We walking on the beach

The steps, measuring silence in the whispering of sand
Softly giving in under our bare feet pressure
The wind nudging, pushing slightly on the back
Witnessing muted dialog of understanding souls

How many times things getting complicated
It's our fault to overcomplex the simplicity of it
Like two of us on empty shore floating in Never land
Free of Byzantine knots in overburdened mind

The water brings cooling respite to imponderable questions
Actually , giving the answers in the ebbs and flows
I catechize the heart with he loves me ,love me not
Silly abrogation for the truth already implanted
He is here, now , walking hand in hand
Looking so peaceful and content in golden aura of sun

by Margaret Gudkov

Moon changing nature

Moon changing nature

Half moon is offering the slice to taste
Sharp appetizer of Roquefort tingling mouth
The cheese is hanging amidst black caviar of sky
Delectable morsel for aristocratic taste of connoisseur

Getting the bigger , riper every day
Till full grown new moon calls for assembly
Presiding monarch on the pedestal of never-ending merrygo-around
Night-day, night-day, holding the ornamental starry scepter

The dog on terrace, overcome by magnetic light of hers
Barked at the moon, asking to come closer for sniffing
Huge ball of fascination, eager to play with, too high
Too forbidding , for the eyes to savor only
So dog barked again and over, not getting answer

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Rufino Tamayo

Open your arms to unbelievable sensation

Open your arms to unbelievable sensation
You tasted scent of other women on your lips
Yet it was not perfumed pleasure body traveled for
Seeking the uniqueness of one meant only for you

The search for soul mate through forest of the glances
Sweet, soft, shy , green ,blue and dark, angry , disappointed
Through siphoning the mouths sensual gatherings
Probing the juices , sipping slowly on tongue

They were gorgeous, not really close to gorgeous
Variety of the female candidates to win the heart
Hoping to win the beauty pageant, judged by the heart
You tried too hard to find the right companion... it did not work

Open your arms, turn, I am right behind you
Waiting for the fortune's twinkle to flash a light on me
Clear fogginess from eyes of yours , lift on the same level
And look deeper , drowning in love's pupils
Unblanketing the divine truth

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Catherine Yastrebova

Eat cherries

Eat cherries
Their sweet nectar would cushion disappointments on tongue
Soften a bit the words that yearning to spring out in the anger
Calming the senses into surrender to the nature 's antidote

The truth is bittersweet hostility , peering at your face
Do you have a guts to handle without wavering a little
Common girl nothing will break inside , it's here to teach a lesson
Many lessons to the mind to make it stronger person

Seen message on the wall if written just for me
The lifestyle you ordered currently out of stock
Go figure if divine force trying to tell me something
Configure architecture of the thoughts
Helping to direct them into peaceful delta

Eat cherries girl .. maybe your time is still ahead
The rationale is difficult to swallow

by Margaret Gudkov
art by Emilia Wilk

White tulips drooping in the vase

White tulips drooping in the vase
Spent ballerinas in the stage of life
The tutus petals resting sadly, closing eyes 
Unready to ebb, succumbing to commandment of the nature

Few days, few hours of blooming breath
And now air is filled with decaying death
Stems rotting in antecedently clear, fresh water
The smell of end permeating nose

Came from the tiny bulbs
Grotesque to look at, reminding of the cocoon
Like butterfly spring out from the hideous shell, revealing beauty
They suddenly divulge the secret to the world
Flourishing into enormously alluring buds ..alas not for long

by Margaret Gudkov