Rumi: Did Not I Say To You? A New Rendering Poem by Ravi Kopra

Did I not say to you, "Go not there, for I am your friend; in this
mirage of annihilation I am the fountain of life? "
Even though in anger you depart a hundred thousand years
from me, in the end you will come to me, for I am your goal.
Did I not say to you, "Be not content with worldly forms, for I
am the fashioner of the tabernacle of your contentment? "
Did I not say to you, "I am the sea and you are a single fish;
go not to dry land, for I am your crystal sea? "
Did I not say to you, " Go not like birds to the snare; come, for
I am the power of flight and your wings and feet? "
Did I not say to you, " They will waylay you and make you
cold, for I am the fire and warmth and heat of your desire? "
Did I not say to you, " They will implant in you ugly qualities
so that you will forget that I am the source of purity to you? "
Did I not say to you, "Do not say from what direction the ser-
vant's affairs come into order? " I am the Creator without
directions.
If you are the lamp of the heart, know where the road is to the
house; and if you are godlike of attribute, know that I am your
Master.
Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi