Hold tight to the garment of love,

Don't think of death as the end,

If you read just one alif in love's book,

There will be no questioning for you.

If you believe in what you call love,

And follow it with all your heart,

Your soul alone will be

The sacrifice on this path, because

Nothing else you have is worth it.

If you want to learn

The true sign of the few, know that

When the essence is pure,

No words they say can cause harm.

It is a sign of those who are wise,

They always have wisdom in their heart,

They surrender themselves to God,

And never say any unkind thing.

Don't you see the bee

Taking honey from every flower?

And yet there is no honey

In the home of the fly or the moth.

If you really want these pearls and jewels,

Serve only those who are wise,

The thousands of words from the ignorant

Have no meaning, they do not speak to you.

Poor Yunus, a poison that kills

Now becomes the antidote in love's hands,

If the heart feels no love, none

Of your prayers, your knowledge and practices

Are in any way valid at all.

* * *

(From: Yunus Emre: His Life and Selected Poems written and edited by Faruk Dilaver)