He Is The First And The Last
He is the first, He is the last, He is the outward, He is the inward;
I know none other except "Ya Hu" [Yahweh]
and "Ya man Hu" ["O He who is"].
I am intoxicated with Love's cup,
the two worlds have passed out of my ken;
I have no business save carouse and revelry.
If once in my life I spent a moment without you,
From that time and from that hour I repent of my life.
If once in this world I win a moment with you,
I will trample on both worlds, I will dance in triumph for ever.
O Shamsi Tabriz, I am so drunken in this world,
That except of drunkenness and revelry I have no tale to tell.
I know none other except "Ya Hu" [Yahweh]
and "Ya man Hu" ["O He who is"].
I am intoxicated with Love's cup,
the two worlds have passed out of my ken;
I have no business save carouse and revelry.
If once in my life I spent a moment without you,
From that time and from that hour I repent of my life.
If once in this world I win a moment with you,
I will trample on both worlds, I will dance in triumph for ever.
O Shamsi Tabriz, I am so drunken in this world,
That except of drunkenness and revelry I have no tale to tell.
Translated by
Coleman Barks
