Special - several Turkish musicians will be at the zikr tomorrow, listen to the song of the reed

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The Song of the Reed

Listen to the song of the reed,

How it wails with the pain of separation:

"Ever since I was taken from my reed bed

My woeful song has caused men and women to weep.

I seek out those whose hearts are torn by separation

For only they understand the pain of this longing.

Whoever is taken away from his homeland

Yearns for the day he will return.

In every gathering, among those who are happy or sad,

I cry with the same lament.

Everyone hears according to his own understanding,

None has searched for the secrets within me.

My secret is found in my lament

But an eye or ear without light cannot know it . . ."

The sound of the reed comes from fire, not wind

What use is one's life without this fire?

It is the fire of love that brings music to the reed.

It is the ferment of love that gives taste to the wine.

The song of the reed soothes the pain of lost love.

Its melody sweeps the veils from the heart.

Can there be a poison so bitter or a sugar so sweet

As the song of the reed?

To hear the song of the reed

everything you have ever known must be left behind.

   -- Version by Jonathan Star

"Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved" Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997

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 Please join the Columbus Sufi Circle on April 25, 2015 at 7:30 pm -hear the song of the reed - 

Zawiyya al Mu'min

1000 Urlin Ave, apt 1021, Grandview Heights OH 43212

Zikr, ney music, poetry, sweet treats and sohbet