Fethullah Gulen and Poetry – The Broken Plectrum
“Poetry is the poetic expression of the universe’s hidden beauty and symmetry, and the heart-ravishing, smiling view of existence by sensitive, inspired souls. Among them are those whose hearts have become ink-pots and whose ink is the breath of the Holy Spirit.” This is M. Fethullah Gulen‘s point of view regarding poetry.
For him “Poetry is the sound heard while delving into the beyond, and the moan coming from those so engaged. Its sounds and tunes are sometimes uproarious and sometimes fine, for they depend on the poet’s spiritual condition and inner depth. For this reason, poetry’s every word and sound can be comprehended fully only if the hearer knows the poet’s spiritual state at the time of his or her poem’s conception.”
Here comes the unbreakable relationship between poetry and the poet himself: “Poetry, like entreaty, expresses the ups and downs as well as the enthusiasm and sadness of the individual’s inner world. To the extent the poet concentrates on exalted truths, the resulting poems become like breaths from beyond. Every supplication is a poem, and every poem is a supplication, provided the poem flutters wings toward infinity.”
M. Fethullah Gulen‘s two-volume book, ‘Broken Plectrum’, is a compilation of his poetry. The link below will take you to some of his masterpieces that may provide you with an excerpt of his inner world.
The Pure Path
One night I had a vision of the future so bright;
there was a peaceful silence and was pouring light upon light.
Things were being done with the precision of clockwork;
centuries-old confusions disappeared one after the other.
All were respectful to each other and behaved in sincerity;
water of life was flowing through taps of porphyry.
Holy ones were as if on parade with faces bright with faith;
as they walked they gave strength to our hopes.
People were busy with founding a new world;
the earth was so luminous as if to compete with the sky.
When those heroes with penetrating sight passed by me.
I came to understand that mankind were in the time promised.
I saw young men with clear signs on their faces and concluded
they were those promised to come toward the end of time.
I continued my way without stopping nor becoming tired;
I met those who had absorbed light from the “grand fountain.
Some full of gratitude were walking arm-in-arm;
finally all reached their destination which is the Pure Path
