"But if you are happy"

~

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

When you whirl, your eye sees the room whirling, too.
If you sail in a ship over the sea,
it seems the seashore is running past.
If your heart is oppressed with struggle,
the whole atmosphere of the world feels tight;
but if you are happy as your friends would wish,
this world seems to be a garden of roses.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gar to bar-gardi va bar-gardad saret
khâneh-râ gardandeh binad manzaret
Var to dar kashti ravi bar yamm ravân
sâhel-e yamm-râ hami bini davân
Gar to bâshi tang-del az malhameh
tang bini jawv-e donyâ-râ hameh
Var to bâshi be-kâm-e dustân
in jahân be-namâyadet chon golestân

-- Mathnawi IV: 2369-2373
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

The media:
http://tinyurl.com/2fdd3u

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

~

"But if you are happy"