Rumi’s Cry: “Shams, Do Not!” | Ghazal 2054 of Divan

بِشْنیده‌‌ام ‌‌که عَزمِ سَفَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

مِهرِ حَریف و یارِ دِگَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

I have heard that you are preparing to depart—do not.

You are turning your love toward another friend—do not.

تو در جهانِ غریبی، غُربَت چه می‌کُنی؟

قَصدِ کدام خَسته جِگَر می‌کُنی؟ مَکُن

You are a stranger in this world; what would you do in a foreign land?

Whose wounded heart are you now aiming at? Do not.

از ما مَدُزد خویش، به بیگانگانْ مَرو

دُزدیده سویِ غیر نَظَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

Do not steal yourself away from us, do not go toward strangers.

You are secretly casting glances at others—do not.

ای مَهْ که چَرخْ زیر و زَبَر از برایِ توست

ما را خَراب و زیر و زَبَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

O moon, for whom the heavens are turned upside down,

You are making us drunk, turning us upside down—do not.

چه وَعده می‌دهیّ و چه سوگند می‌خوری؟

سوگند و عِشْوه را تو سِپَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

What promises do you make and what oaths do you swear?

You use oaths and coquetry as a shield—do not.

کو عَهد و کو وَثیقه که با بنده کرده‌یی؟

از عَهد و قولِ خویش عَبَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

Where is the pact and pledge you made to me?

You are breaking your own promises and words—do not.

 

ای بَرتَر از وجود و عَدَمْ بارگاهِ تو

از خِطّهٔ وجود گُذَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

You, whose court is beyond existence and non-existence,

You are overstepping the bounds of existence—do not.

ای دوزخ و بهشتْ غُلامانِ اَمرِ تو

بر ما بهشت را چو سَقَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

You, before whose command hell and heaven stand as slaves,

You are turning paradise into a hell for me—do not.

اَنْدَر شِکَرْسِتانِ تو از زَهر ایمِنیم

آن زَهر را حَریفِ شِکَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

Within your sugarcane field, we are safe from poison,

Yet you are blending that poison with the sugar—do not.

جانم چو کوره‌یی‌ست پُرآتشْ بَسَت نکرد؟

رویِ من از فِراقْ چو زَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

My soul is like a furnace, filled with fire—has that not sufficed you?

By your absence, you make my face pale as gold—do not.

چون رویْ دَرکَشی تو، شود مَه سِیَه زِ غَم

قَصدِ خُسوفِ قُرصِ قَمَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

When you hide your face, the moon darkens in sorrow.

You are intending the eclipse of the moon’s orb—do not.

ما خُشک لب شَویم، چو تو خُشک آوری

چَشمِ مرا به اشکْ چه تَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

When you are serious with us, our lips go dry,

Why do you moisten my eyes with tears? Do not.

چون طاقَتِ عَقیلهٔ عُشّاق نیسْتَت

پس عقل را چه خیره نِگَر می‌کُنی؟ مَکُن

Since you cannot endure the binding/shackling of lovers,

Why do you dazzle the eye of reason? Do not.

حَلْوا‌‌ نمی‌دَهی تو به رَنْجورْ زِ احْتِما

رَنْجورِ خویش را تو بَتَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

You do not offer sweetmeats to the one fevered by affliction,

Yet you worsen the pain of the one who is sick from you—do not.

چَشمِ حَرام خوارهٔ من، دُزدِ حُسنِ توست

ای جانْ سِزایِ دُزدِ بَصَر می‌کُنی، مَکُن

My lawless eye is the thief of your beauty,

O beloved, you are punishing the thieving eye—do not.

سَر دَرکَش ای رفیق که هنگامِ گفت نیست
در بی‌سَریِّ عشقْ چه سَر می‌کُنی؟ مَکُن

Withdraw, companion, for this is no time for words.

Why do you push yourself forward in the bewilderment of love? Do not.

Rumi, Divan, Ghazal 2054: “Shams, Do Not!”

Translated by Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani, 15 June 2025

Watch our analisis of this poem

In this episode of the Rumi Podcast, we explore ghazal 2054 from Rumi’s Dīwān-i Shams Tabrizi, a heart-wrenching cry to the Beloved—Shams of Tabriz. This mystical poem explores themes of separation, divine love, longing, and spiritual intoxication, speaking directly to the universal human experience of spiritual abandonment and inner yearning. We uncover how this poem is not just about loss—but about the soul’s transformative confrontation with divine absence. These verses resonate deeply today in a world of emotional distance and spiritual seeking.