I was listening to NPR this morning and they were doing a piece on a new translation of the Sufi Muslim poet Rumi. I had never heard of him or read any of his poetry. The few excerpts they recited were full of the joy of life and the mystery that is our existence. I wanted to share a little bit of this poetry with y’all today.
“Jars of Springwater”Jars of springwater are not enough
anymore. Take us down to the river!
The face of peace, the sun itself.
No more the slippery cloudlike moon.
Give us one clear morning after another
and the one whose work remains unfinished,
who is our work as we diminish, idle,
though occupied, empty, and open.
by Jelaluddin Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks
I encourage you to seek out the translations by Coleman Barks. He couches Rumi’s ecstatic, mystical verse in an American vernacular that still transcends language while being emminently accessible.