SAY NOTHING Poems of Jalal al-Din Rumi
in Persian & English
Iraj Anvar & Anne Twitty
Chehre-ye zadrd-e ma ra bin...
Look at my sallow face, but say nothing.
Look at this infinite pain, and for God's sake, say nothing.
Look at this bleeding heart, eyes like the River Jeyhun.
No matter what you see, pass by. Don't ask, say nothing.
Yesterday you appeared at the door of the heart's house.
Your image knocked and said: Come, open the door, say nothing.
I put my hand to my mouth and said: Woe to my broken heart.
He said: I'm yours, don't bite your hand, say nothing.
Since you are my surna, don't sing without my lips.
Until I play you like a harp, not a word about music. Say nothing.
I said: How long will you drag my soul around the world?
He said: Wherever I drag you, come quickly. Say nothing.
I said: While I say nothing, do you want me
to burn? Are you saying: Come in and say nothing?
He smiled like a rose and said: Come in and see.
This fire is jasmine, green leaves and roses. Say nothing.
The fire became roses and spoke. It told me:
Except for our beloved's love and kindness, say nothing.
by collaborators Iraj Anvar, a Persian-born scholar, singer, and reciter of
Rumi, and Anne Twitty, winner of a PEN Prize for Poetry in Translation.
REVIEW
Rumi has been thrilling audiences with his heartfelt words for centuries. He is a Persian master of words that capture his love for his friend and spiritual guide the Shams of Tabriz. He finds great passion in worshiping and idealizing his beloved. His spirituality is unlike any other and he creates a dichotomy between love and hate, darkness and light and silence and speaking.
In Say Nothing Rumi's words are translated into English by Iraj Anvar and Anne Twitty with such an attention to detail that it brings to light the tangled relationship between lovers, friends, enemies and the relationship you have with yourself. Rumi makes an awareness of all that we carry in our minds and all we develop in time between the world and the people who we come in contact with. The poems capture a sense of deep sorrow that Rumi feels when separated from his spiritual point of his beloved friend.
Rumi reminds us that when we say nothing we do not question the world and the heavens above and instead find acceptance and great joy in not knowing all there is of the great mysteries of life.
This book cleverly conveys both the simplicity and astounding complexity that is Rumi's works.
About Soraya Hussain:
Soraya currently serves a science and health teacher for Nightingale Middle School located in
Los Angeles, California. She lives in Sherman Oaks and enjoys reading and learning Spanish in her spare time.
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