Yilmaz Alimoglu

"Sunlight", Oil on canvas, by Iman Maleki

Don’t sleep for just one night, my beautiful friend.
And the treasure of Eternity will appear before you.
The Sun of the Invisible will warm you all night;
The collyrium of mystery will open your eyes.

This evening, I beg you, fight against yourself, don’t sleep.
So you discover those splendors that spread ecstasy.
It is at night that beauties unveil themselves;
The one who sleeps never hears their soft calls.

Wasn’t it at night that Moses saw the burning bush
And heard its miraculous summons to come closer?
It was during the night he traveled so far
That he came to see a bush drowned in glory.

The day’s for earning a living, the night’s for love
So the eyes of the jealous cannot spy on you.
The rest of the world may sleep, but real lovers
Throughout the night talk inwardly with God.

All through the night God is calling us,
“Rise up, use this time richly, you poor man!
If you don’t, you’ll burn with regret
When your soul’s separated from your body.”

Mevlana Rumi

Translated by Andrew Harvey