If you haven’t pledged your heart
to the love of a radiant beauty
consider your life
a total waste.
The key to eternal life lies
in the palm of love’s hand;
without a discerning beloved,
one is in reality dead.
If you don’t throw your entire being
before the feet of an idol,
you won’t make a profit or grasp
the treasure of eternal life.
If you do not plant the seed
of loving-kindness in your heart,
you will never eat any fruit
from the garden of happiness.
Without love, you have no clue
about the reason for existence;
without the Beloved, what do you know
of your purpose in this life?
Not until you become ensnared
in love’s trap will you be free;
trapped in yourself, you remain
depressed, cold-hearted and miserable.
O my soul, if light is bestowed
upon your abode,
it is because your heart is bound in love
to the Beloved.