i cannot recall
the exact moment
though surely
my soul knew
and had been waiting

to the unconscious self
drowned
in layer upon layer of sleep
at first glance
you were like any other
and in my ignorance
i was hopelessly, utterly
defenseless

Love stole upon me
like monsoon clouds
gathering stealthily
in the night
unseen, unheard by anyone
except by those possessed
or devout

and a knife plunged swiftly
slicing
to the center of my heart
inflicting a wound
for which
there is no cure
but You

the whole world was transformed
in an instant-
an instant i still cannot
hope to recall-
the smell of rain
the music of dawn birds
the taste of mangoes

and now everything
everything
everything!
is tinged with your fragrance
your presence or absence
the hue
in which my life gets painted

this exquisite pain
is borne and nursed
in silence

in a world that can read
rumi’s transcendent devotion
as carnal desire
what hope do i have
to speak of this

even to you?

***

11th June 2010. For more contemporary sufi poetry in english, please visit Sufi Poetry English.