The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks

Author:Coleman Barks
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

Inside me a hundred beings

are putting their fingers to their lips and saying,

“That’s enough for now. Shhhhh.” Silence

is an ocean. Speech is a river.

When the ocean is searching for you, don’t walk

to the language-river. Listen to the ocean,

and bring your talky business

to an end.

Traditional words are just babbling

in that presence, and babbling is a substitute

for sight. When you sit down beside your beloved,

send the chaperones away, the old women

who brought you together.

When you are mature and with your love,

the love letters and matchmakers

seem irritating.

You might read those letters,

but only to teach beginners about love. One who sees

grows silent. When you’re with one of those,

be still and quiet, unless he asks you

to talk. Then draw the words out

as I do this poem with Husam,

the radiance of God.

I try to stop talking,

but he makes me continue. Husam, if you are in

the vision, why do you want me to say words?

Maybe it’s like the poet Abu Nuwas,

who said in Arabic,

Pour me some wine,

and talk to me about the wine.

The cup is at my mouth

but my ear interrupts,

“I want some.”

O ear, what you get is the heat.

You turn red with this wine.

But the ear says,

“I want more than that!”

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