I Gave My Love a Cherry

In turbō nōs diū morātī sumus at

Illīs fide nec color fuit necque odor

Turbae lateāmus rectius nōs esset,

Tamquam ignis in saxō et in ferrō lux.

Translation of Rūmī’s quatrain #1075, Foruzanfar, ed.; 

pg 29 in Houshmand’s Moon and Sun; 

quatrain #119 in Gamard’s The Quatrains of Rumi.

See blog entry for October 31, 2021 about Latin and Persian poetry. 

 

یـک چــند مـیان خـلق کـردیــم درنگ

زیشان بـه وفا نـه بوی دیدیم نـه رنگ

آن بــه که نهان شـویــم از دیده خلق

چون آب در آهن و چو آتش در سنگ

yak chand mīyān-e xolq kardim darang

zīshān be vafā na būī dīdīm na rang

ān beh ke nehān shavīm az dīde-e xolq 

chon āb dar āhan ō cho ātash dar sang

We tarried some days among the people.

We saw with fidelity neither smell nor color from them.

It would be better for us to hide from the sight of people.

Like water in iron and like fire in stone.

In reading this four-line poem, I thought of the traditional Appalachian song, the riddle song about stone-less cherries, bone-less chickens, endless stories, and tear-less babies, because Rūmī has presented us with something similar: people without smell or color and iron containing water and stones fire. 

Smell and color in Persian suggest faithfulness, love, and sincerity, as in the expression būye yak rangī [بوی یک رنگی], literally “a smell of one color.” Rūmī reinforces this idea with the word vafā [وفا], which means promise, fidelity, and sincerity. Often this word is contrasted with jafā [جفا]: cruelty, oppression. This might give you an idea how untrustworthy and cruel a crowd without smell and color can be and why Rūmī advises fellow Sufis to go into hiding.

Here we come to the second riddle. How can water be in iron or fire in stone? Like the Appalachian song, the answer lies in their potential. Iron can be polished so that it gleams like water and reflects like a mirror. Similarly, strike one stone against another and you will see a spark. Add tinder and you will have fire.

I don’t know what exactly Rūmī has in mind here. Is he saying that the mystic has hidden qualities and potential that are best kept from the masses? Or is he saying that the people aren’t worthy of the splendor and gleam of the mystics, that they can’t see their potential and that they wouldn’t understand it even if they saw it, even if the mystics unleashed their powers? I have no answers, just questions.

Here is a free translation:

We spent some time with the people

No faithfulness there, evaporated, faded

Best to avoid them and go into hiding

Like the gleam in iron, the fire in stone.