There is no better way to spend a quiet evening than meditating on the works of Rumi, the medieval poet and spiritual proponent of Persia. Partaking of “The Essential Rumi” and “Rumi the book of love“, translations by Coleman Barks is a fascinating journey into Rumi’s adundant metaphorical expressions of love and living, all heart and soul gushing as crystal streams of soulfreedom.
Late, by myself, in the boat of myself,
no light and no land anywhere,
cloudcover thick. I try to stay
just above the surface,
yet I’m already under
and living with the ocean.
Only Breath
Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion
or cultural system. I am not from the East
or the West, not out of the ocean or up
from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all. I do not exist,
am not an entity in this world or in the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve or any
origin story. My place is placeless, a trace
of the traceless. Neither body or soul.
I belong to the beloved, have seen the two
worlds as one and that one call to and know,
first, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human being.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Rumis poetry is amazing. It’s been a while since I read it though.
It’s what I need now, thanks for reminding me to read it again Prak.
I remember a few years back when the Mevlevi dervishes visited Umeå I was fortunate to see them. They were followers of Rumi.
Bengt, ..Go ahead, partake of some intense soul food. As for myself, I am hopelessly addicted to Rumi and of course Poe. Out of Space, Out of Time