You Long for What You Have Not Earned

You have not left your own self behind, yet you long for the Beloved. You have not cut the pagan's cord, yet you long for faith. At a threshold where the divine call 'Behold Me' resounds, you are not even an ant, and yet you long for Solomon's kingdom. You are not even an ant, and you have done no service worthy of one, yet you long to stand in the front rank of true men. Like Pharaoh you boast, 'I am the Truth,' and then you long for the closeness that Moses son of Imran enjoyed. Like children who make a horse of their own coat-hem, you have made a mount of your hem and now long for the battlefield. In all fairness, you have honestly abandoned your own path; the pain has not even reached you, yet you long for the cure. At the spider's table, where a roasted fly is the only dish, you long to have Gabriel's mighty wing as your fly-swatter. Every day, to feed the dog of your appetite, dear Abu Said, you long for a bowl of soup and a couple of loaves. Sa'di, in this world where you exist, be humble as a speck of dust, if your heart truly longs to reach the presence of the King.