Give yourself a kiss. 
If you live in China, don’t look 
somewhere else, in Tibet, or Mongolia.  
 If you want to hold the beautiful one, 
hold yourself to yourself. When you kiss the Beloved, 
touch your own lips with your own fingers.  
 The beauty of every woman and every man 
is your own beauty.  
 The confusion of your hair 
obscures that sometimes. An artist comes to paint you 
and stands with his mouth open.  
 Your love reveals your beauty, 
but all covering would disappear 
if only for a moment your holding-back 
would sit before your generosity 
and ask, 
“Sir, who are you?”  
At that, 
Beloved's  life-changing face 
gives you a wink.
  
 ~ Rumi – Version by Coleman Barks 
“Like This” 
Maypop, 1990  | 
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