My life came and went
By Yunus Emre
My life came and went
like the wind, between the opening
and closing of an eye.
As Truth is my witness
the soul is the body’s guest.
A day is going to come when
like a bird, it flies out of the cage.
The poor sons of Adam have sown
their seeds across the earth.
Some grew and some were lost.
My insides burn in this world,
my essence is afire. Some die young,
cut down like wheat still green.
If you visit the sick
or bring someone water,
tomorrow you’ll be served
the wine of Truth.
If you give your clothes
to the poor, tomorrow
you’ll be wearing astral clothes.
Yunus Emre, they say only two people
stay in this world forever—
Khidr and Elias, who drink the water of life.
Yunus Emre, tr. Kabir Helminski and Refik Algan in The Drop That Became The Sea: Lyric Poems of Yunus Emre (Shambhala, 2000). Copyright © 1989