That spirit which does not wear
the inner garment of love
should never have been.
Its being is just shame.

Be drunken with Love,
For Love is all that exists.
Where is intimacy found,
If not in the give and take of Love?

If they ask what Love is,
Say, ‘the sacrifice of will.
If you have not left will behind,
You will have no will at all.’

The lover is a king of kings
With both worlds beneath him;
And a king does not regard
What lies at his feet.

Only Love and the lover
Can resurrect beyond time.
Give your heart to this –
The rest is second hand.

How long will you embrace
A lifeless beloved?
Embrace that entity
To which nothing can cling.

What sprouts up every spring
Will wither by autumn,
But the rose-garden of Love
Needs no special season.

Both the rose and the thorn
Appear together in spring,
And the wine of the grape
Is not without its headaches.

Do not be an impatient
Bystander on this path –
By God there is no death
Worse than expectancy.

Set your heart on hard cash
If you are not counterfeit,
And listen to my advice
If you are not a slave:

Don’t falter on the horse
Of the body – go lighter on foot.
God gives wings to those
Who are not content to ride an ass.

Let go of your worries
And be completely clear hearted,
Like the face of a mirror
That contains no images.

When it is empty of forms,
All forms are contained in it.
No face would be ashamed
To be so clear.

If you want a clear mirror,
Behold yourself,
And see the shameless truth
Which the mirror reflects.

If metal can be polished
To a mirror-like finish –
What polishing does the mirror
Of the heart require?

Between the mirror and the heart
Is this single difference:
The heart conceals secrets
While the mirror does not.

(Rumi. “The Ruins of the Heart”. Edmund Helminski. pp. 30-32)