In the school of mind you
learn a lot, and become
a true scholar for many to look up to.
In the school of Love, you become
a child to learn again.
*****
A pious one with a hundred beads on your rosary,
or a drunkard in a tavern,
any gift you bring the Beloved will be accepted
as long as you come in longing.
It is this most secret pain,
this bleeding separation,
which will guide you to your Heart of Hearts.
*****
If you do not give up the crowds
you won't find your way to Oneness.
If you do not drop your self
you won't find your true worth.
If you do not offer all you
have to the Beloved,
you will live this life free of that
pain which makes it worth living.
~ Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
English version by Vraje Abramian
from Nobody, Son of Nobody:
Poems of Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir
with thanks again to poetry chaikhana
