I Won't Repent His Love

A gazelle appeared on this plain.
His eyes started fires everywhere.
Everyone, on horse or on foot,
ran after him to catch him.

They attacked once or twice,
but he disappeared before their eyes.
So fast did he vanish that
he didn't even leave behind a smell.

They started to turn back,
but he appeared again,
They were surprised.

They attacked again.
The gazelle escaped so fast that
even the wind couldn't touch him.

The appearance and disappearance
disturbed the people so much
that they all became obsessed with catching him
But they got caught up in separation
and fell into the trap of loneliness.

One of them dashed off
but grabbed the ear of a rabbit by mistake
Another ran toward Baghdad
after a mountain goat.

In truth, people have
very little tolerance and courage.

Even the earth and sky scare people
if they see in them attributes of the Creator.

Who is the gazelle?
He is the symbol of Shamseddin:
He is my savior, he is my master.
He is the one who came to my rescue
even before I asked for it.

I won't ever repent his love,
even if thousands of the pious advise me to do so.

He is the essence of vision,
the refuge for wisdom.
He is the one
who gives focus to the soul's eye.

Remember, so long as you are here with us,
it's not permissible
to mention anyone else.

There are so many sultans
from the land of Tabriz.
But no one else like him
has ever been born.

The Forbidden Rumi - The Suppressed Poems Of Rumi On Love, Heresy, and Intoxication - Translations and Commentary by Nevit O. Ergin and Will Johnson.