AMBA

What am I? – Anonymous

(Ömrün bitirmiş)

 

 

Life is finished. Am I out of my mind?

Reason is lost. Am I the poem?

I flap the wing.

I keep turning.

My pride burns.

Am I the moth?

My eyes are tearing.

My knees fail to support me.

I trace the path.

Am I drunk?

The sacrifice is the love for my soul.

What benefit is there?

Love is the arrow of this bow.

Am I the archer’s bow?

What is this state of mind?

My depression increases.

Speak oh cruel one.

Am I a foreigner?

Amazed am I.

I have taken a 1001 colors.

I am both empty and full.

Am I the goblet filled with love?

My state will speak for itself.

See, what can one say?

All are making fun of me.

Am I the joke?

They think I am crazy.

They see me as mad.

All are mistaken.

Am I naked?

Let them talk.

Let them say I am in love.

Let them know me as insane.

Am I unique?

 

Reflections

 

The poet sees that he is living in this world yet in so many ways he is not in conformity with it. We can assume that having taken to the spiritual path he realizes that his outlook and behavior is vastly different. Essentially his life has changed. Like the words of a poem which only a poet can interpret fully. As his connection with the divine gets nearer he goes through upheavals and the burning away of his ego. He is reminded of the moth in spiritual literature. In dealing with the trappings of the world, unable to cope, he feels weak and unsteady like a drunk. He knows he is giving up normal life for results that he cannot see. The love that floods his being also brings about sorrow, like a wine goblet whose contents are consumed only to end in emptiness. He is looked upon by others as being in mortal love and insane. He concludes with a sense of acceptance of their behavior regardless. He knows his state. He also hints that perhaps in reality he is not really, unique.

 

Ömrün bitirmiş
Vîrâne miyim
Aklın yitirmiş
Dîvâne miyim

 

Nedir bu hâlim
Artar melâlim
Söyle a zâlim
Bîgâne miyim

 

Kanat vururum
Döner dururum
Yanar kururum
Pervâne miyim

 

Şaşırdım kaldım
Binbir renk aldım
Doldum boşaldım
Peymâne miyim

 

Yaşlı gözlerim
Tutmaz dizlerim
Yolun izlerim
Mestâne miyim

 

Hâlim söylenir
Gör neler denir
Herkes eğlenir
Terâne miyim

 

Meczûb sanırlar
Mecnûn tanırlar
Hep aldanırlar
Uryâne miyim

 

Koy söylesinler
Âşık desinler
Deli bilsinler
Yegâne miyim

 

Aşkî can fedâ
Olsa ne fayda
Aşk oku yayda
Kemâne miyim

 

(Hicaz)