Mathnavi I 34
The Beloved is all, the lover just a veil.
The Beloved is living, the lover a dead thing.
If Love withholds its strengthening care,
the lover is left like a bird without wings.
How will I be awake and aware
if the light of the Beloved is absent?
Love wills this Word be brought forth.
If you find the mirror of the heart dull,
the rust has not been cleared from its face.
by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, Mathnavi, Book I 34
Source: Camille and Kabir Helmminski, Rumi Daylight, p17
The first is my favorite. =)
