Sensual Medieval Poem of the Day: Rumi

[transemacabre]

Jalal ad-Din Rumi was a 13th century Persian poet and Sufi master. I visited the monastery of his followers, the Mevlevi or Whirling Dervishes, while I lived in Istanbul. His poetry combines the sensual with the spiritual and he always knows when to hold back and when to give in.


Within the veil of blood, there are gardens of love;
Faced with the incomprehensible beauty of the beloved,
lovers become overwhelmed.
Reason says, There are only six paths to take
and no other way around them.
Love says, There are paths beyond this,
many times have I traveled them.
Reason came across a bazaar and became a merchant.
Love has seen many bazaars and is beyond haggling.
Lovers, who drink the dregs of wine, reel from bliss to bliss.
The dark-hearted men of reason burn with denial.
Reason says, Do not go forward, in annihilation
you will find nothing but thorns.
Love says to Reason, Those thorns are only in you.
Be silent, pluck the thorn of existence from the depths
of your heart, to see thousands of rose gardens within yourself.
O Shams-i Tabriz, you are the sun, obscured by words.
When your rays break through, words will disappear.