"Once you conquer your selfish self"

~

don't be bitter my friend
you'll regret it soon
hold to your togetherness
or surely you'll scatter

don't walk away gloomy
from this garden
you'll end up like an owl
dwelling in old ruins

face the war and
be a warrior like a lion
or you'll end up like a pet
tucked away in a barn

once you conquer
your selfish self
all your darkness
will change to light

-- Ghazal (Ode) 3299
Translated by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994

The media:
http://tinyurl.com/229qzb

~

"Once you conquer your selfish self"