I look for the head but can’t find the torso

I look for the torso and can’t find the head

Hands, wrists and fingers chopped
And dropped who knows where
When oneness is the bride
The groom is cut to pieces

The gallows are the bedroom

Of true lovers
To turn back or hesitate is a shame
Their love belongs to open fields
The vow to embrace death
Is a sign of true lovers

I am wedded to him who

Wields an axe in his hands
In the field of love
No place to hesitate
Let me put my head on the block
Let the beloved drop the blade

- Bhitai
The gallows are the bedroom
Of true lovers
Kabir stands in the marketplace,
a flaming torch in hand,
If you can burn your house down,
come, walk with me.

This is the house of love,

not your aunt’s place,
Cut your head off, leave it at the doorstep,
and then think of entering.
All who come will go –
king, pauper, faqir.
Those perched on thrones will go.
Those tied in shackles too.

Clay said to the potter:

you may knead me, true.
But a day shall surely come
when I’ll be kneading you!

Kabir’s name is all powerful.

My true guru is Kabir.

Wood said to the ironsmith:

you may burn me, true.
But a day shall surely come
when I’ll be burning you!
How can I rely on you, foreigner?
You traveller to distant lands!

The walls crumble, the roof caves in

Your roof mingles in the mud, o traveller
How can I rely on you, foreigner?

The knots on the sugarcane are sweet

The taste of each knot is different, o traveller
How can I rely on you, foreigner?

As long as there is oil, to feed the wick of the

lamp
Your temple has light, o traveller
How can I rely on you, foreigner?
The oil depletes, the light flickers
Your temple is plunged in darkness, o
traveller
How can I rely on you, foreigner?

The shopkeeper got up and left, your market

is desolate
He left the lock, and took away the key, o
traveller
How can I rely on you, foreigner?

Says Kabir listen o seekers

Your swan1 will fly to the immortal country,
o traveller
How can I rely on you, foreigner?
 Your better days passed away –

you didn’t seek out your guru.

Why regret it now, when the

birds have eaten your harvest?

Stay awake, a thief will steal into your town.

Stay alert, a thief will sneak into your town.

A thief will come, one day, death will come!

No swords, cannons or arrows will fly.

He won’t fire a gun.

You won’t see him come or go.

Inside you, he’ll roam around!

Stay alert, a thief will come!

 He won’t wreck any fort, raze any castle.

He won’t show you his form.

He has no use for your city.

He’ll catch only you and take you away!

Stay awake, a thief will come!

Your wealth and riches, goods and treasures

Says Kabir, this land is deserted.
will be left behind, all stashed away.
No one here is yours.
Your family and friends, brothers and kin
You came with your fist clenched, my friend
will be left behind, to stand and stare.
You’ll go with your hands outstretched!
Stay alert, a thief will come!
Stay awake, a thief will come!
 It will fly away alone, the swan.

This world is but a carnival

For the eyes

Like a leaf falls from a tree,

Never to meet her again

Who knows where it will fall

when it’s hit by a gust of wind?

When your time is up,

When you are rid of orders and duties

The bouncers of death are mighty strong,

You land in the tangle of death

 Kabir sings the qualities
Of a boundless god.
The guru will go,
Where his deeds take him,
The disciple’s deeds are his own.

It will fly away alone, the swan.

This world is but a carnival
For the eyes