Yunus Emre

Yunus Emre - Büyükçekmece, Istanbul

Let a word mature inside yourself.
Withhold the unripened thought.
Come and understand the kind of word
that reduces money and riches to dust.

-Yusuf Emre
from The Drop that Became the Sea
Good quote for a writer, don't you think?

While Rumi is technically my favorite Sufi poet, I find Yunus Emre interesting too. Some of his verses about love and destiny are just breathtaking. Others? Very didactic.

The poem above, for example, is really refering to peaceful coexistence. Here's the entire section:

A single word can brighten the face
of one who knows the value of words.
Ripened in silence, a single wordacquires a great energy for work.

War is cut short by a word,
and a word heals the wounds,
and there's a word that changes
poison into butter and honey.

Let a word mature inside yourself.
Withhold the unripened thought.
Come and understand the kind of word
that reduces money and riches to dust.

Know when to speak a word
and when not to speak at all.A single word turns a universe of hell
into eight paradises.
Follow the Way. Don't be fooled
by what you already know. Be watchful.
Reflect before you speak.
A foolish mouth can brand your soul.

Yunus, say one last thing
about the power of words—
Only the word "I"
divides me from God.

See? I was reading happily along, and then he refers to himself in third person?

There might be a reason for that though. No one is sure of who this guy really was, if he was one person, or a group of people. (Hey! In the 13th century, all kinds of village people might have written this stuff.) The ambiguity makes him even more interesting, legendary, which is not a bad thing at all, IMHO.

Whirling Dervishes

I got a blog post request (Yay!) to discuss my use of Rumi, a Sufi mystic who once lived in Konya, Turkey.

Rumi founded the Mevlana brotherhood, which many recognize as the Whirling Dervishes (at right).

I’m not encouraging a meditative state which involves possible dizziness, and I’m not even what you would call a spiritual person. However, I do admire people who can tap that inner, personal source of peace.

I once picked up a hardcover copy of his poems for a ridiculous price. So one evening, when I couldn't sleep because I was trying to figure out a good plot twist, I flipped through Rumi for some inspiration.

Warning: Rumi poetry has the power to touch your soul.

Now poetry foreshadows each chapter of Burnt Amber. No rhymey stuff, just insightful verses that apply to any creed. Not every one of his poems resonates with me, but for example, a two minute search pulled up this:

I tried to remember in my heart
what I’d dreamt about
during the night
before I became aware
of this moving
of life

You can find more Rumi poetry on the web at http://www.khamush.com/.

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