ደስታ አልፏል ብለህ ፍፁም አትቆርቆር፣
እንዲመለስ እወቅ መልኩን በመቀየር፡፡
ወተት እሹሩሩው የህፃኑ ደስታ፣
እንዲተካ እወቅ በምግብ ጋጋታ፣
መልኩንም ቀይሮ ሲጐበኘን ደስታ፣
አንዱ ጋር ሌላ ነው ሲቀየርም ቦታ፡፡
አንድ ሰሞን ዘንቦ ሲያበሰብሰን፣
ይከተላል ደግሞ ያበባ መፍከንከን፡፡
ዛሬ ውበት ሲሆን ወይም ደግሞ እንጀራ፣
ደግሞም ይንድና ሁሉንም ተራራ፣
በፅሞና ደስታ ነፍስ ይወስዳል ተራ፡፡
በመኝታህ ሰዓት ነፍስህ ትታህ ስትሄድ፣
እራስህን ብታይ ሆነህ ረጅሙን ጽድ፣
አሊያም ፅጌረዳ በውበት የምትነድ፣
ወንድሜ አትሸወድ በቅዠትህ መውደድ፣
ከልብህ በስተቀር ሌላ አይምራህ መንገድ፡፡
Poem translated from Rumi’s Little Book of Life
Do not grieve over past joys, be sure
they will reappear in another form.
A child's joy is in milk and nursing
but once weaned, it finds new joy
in bread and honey.
Joy appears in many different forms
in moves from place to place.
It may suddenly show in the falling rain
or in the rose bed; it comes now as water,
now as beauty, or as nourishing bread.
But suddenly it may show its face
from behind the veil and destroy all idols
that prevent you from seeking the divine.
In sleep when the soul leaves the body
you may dream of yourself as a tall cypress
or as a beautiful rose, but be warned, my friend,
all these phantoms dissolve into thin air
once the soul returns to the body.
Do not rely on anything but your heart.