Sunlight: [Sunlight] Don't be surprised -- Quatrain 64

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Today, Sunlight offers four interpretations of Quatrain 64:

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When I die, lay out the corpse.
You may want to kiss my lips,
just beginning to decay. Don't be frightened
if I open my eyes.

-- Version by Coleman Barks
Open Secret
Threshold Books, 1984

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when i die
hand me over
to my sweetheart
one kiss
on my dead lips
don't be surprised
if I come alive

--Translation by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Dancing the Flame
Cal-Earth Press, 2001

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When I die,
lay my copse to rest,
but do not be at all surprised
If His kiss on my tattered lips
brings me back to life.

-- Translation by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
Rumi: Whispers of the Beloved
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1999

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If I die, lay me next to the Beloved.

If He looks at me, don't be surprised.
If He kisses me on the lips, don't be surprised.
If I open my eyes and smile, don't be surprised.

-- Version by Jonathan Star
"A Garden Beyond Paradise:
The Mystical Poetry of Rumi"
Bantam Books, 1992

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