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My heart burned, my chest was in flames

My heart burned, my chest was in flames;
My lungs, like roast meat, were ablaze.
For all this suffering of mine
The lovers’ sweet drinks were the cause.

There are those who forge love anew
And those who make it go askew;
Some walk around drunk through and through.
Those remain in ruins always.

The pen writes with strokes full of love
To which the world is a captive;
Even Archangel Gabriel
Stands as a veil between lovers.

At religious schools, no master
Managed to study this chapter;
Those professors failed to explain
The essence of that advanced phase.

The Angel of Death pressed his case;
All his claims turned out to be lies.
Whoever commits perjury
Will suffer the rest of his days.

Lovers challenge death to transmute;
Their circle of trance can’t go mute;
They revel in their harp and lute
As their ensemble joyfully plays.

Yunus, come, join the mystics’ corps,
Serve as their slave down to the core,
Because it is Allah who yearns for
The masters of the mystic ways.