If you do not know me ask the dark night......by Rumi

If you do not know me ask the dark night
she is the witness of my lonely tears and laments
she is the only keeper of my secrets.

Now I stand here patient
like a mountain and humble like dust.

My sorrows, like wall of thorns surround my garden
but once you pass beyond them
you will praise its flowing springs and fragrant roses.
You will praise the Beloved who blessed my garden with new life.

A peaceful weaver cannot appreciate the art of war
the mind cannot understand the sweetness of the lover’s pain,
that sweet pain of melting like a grain of salt in the sea of love.

But I do not want to waste my words on tired minds
I can only talk to those who are thirsty for the sea.

~ Rumi

I want to know the joy of how you whisper "more" ~ Rumi

‎"I want to see you.
Know your voice.

Recognize you when you
first come 'round the corner.

Sense your scent when I come
into a room you've just left.

Know the lift of your heel,
the glide of your foot.

Become familiar with the way
you purse your lips
then let them part,
just the slightest bit,
when I lean in to your space
and kiss you.

I want to know the joy
of how you whisper
"more"

~ Rumi

House of Love...by Rumi

Why is there always music in this house?
Ask the owner.

Idols inside the House?
Beloved's light in a pagan temple?

Here is a treasure this world could not contain.
The house and its landlord 
are all pretext and play.

Hands off this house, this talisman.
Don't argue with the landlord;
he's drunk every night.

The dirt and garbage are musk and rose.
The roof and door are music and verse.
In short, whoever finds this house,
is ruler of the world, Solomon of his time.

Look down, Lord, from the roof;
bless us with your glance.

I swear, since seeing Your face,
the whole world is a fraud and fantasy.
The garden is bewildered as to what is leaf
or blossom.  The distracted birds
can't distinguish the birdseed from the snare.

A house of love with no limits,
a presence more beautiful than venus or the moon,
a beauty whose image fills the mirror of the heart.

Zulaikha's female friends,
beside themselves in Joseph's presence, sliced their wrists.
Maybe a curl of his hair brushed their hearts.

Come in.  The Beloved is here.  We are all drunk.
No one notices who enters or leaves.
Don't sit outside the door in the dark, wondering.

Those drunk with Him,
even if they are a thousand, live as One.
But drunk with lust, even one is double.

Enter the thicket of lions unafraid of any wounds.
The shadows you fear are just a child's fantasy.

There is no wound and nothing to be wounded;
all is mercy and love.

But you build up thought
like a massive wooden door.
Set fire to the wood.  
Silence the noise of the heart.
Hold your harmful tongue.

~ Rumi

Version by Kabir Helminski
Love is a Stranger Threshold Books, 1993

I want the infinite..............! by Rumi

We're like four different birds,
that each had one leg tied in
with the other birds.

A flopping bouguet of birds!
Death releases the binding, and they fly off,
but before that, their pulling is our pain.

Consider how the soul must be,
in the midst of these tensions,
feeling its own exalted pull.

My longing is more profound.
The birds want sweet green herbs
and the water running by.

I want the infinite! I want wisdom.
These birds want orchards and meadows
and vines with fruit on them.

I want a vast expansion.
They want profit and security
of having enough food.

Remember what the soul wants,
because in that, eternity
is wanting our souls!

Which is the meaning of the text,
They love That, and That loves them.

If I keep on explaining this,
the Mathnawi will run to eighty volumes!

The gist is: whatever anyone seeks,
that is seeking the seeker.

No matter if its animal,
or vegetable, or mineral.

Every bit of the universe
is filled with wanting,
and whatever any bit wants,
wants the wanter!

~ Rumi
(Mathnawi, III, 4391 - 4472)
From 'Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion'
Translated by Coleman Barks

My arrow of love has arrived at the target ...by Rumi

From the beginning of my life
I have been looking for your face
but today I have seen it

Today I have seen
the charm, the beauty,
the unfathomable grace
of the face
that I was looking for

Today I have found you
and those who laughed
and scorned me yesterday
are sorry that they were not looking
as I did

I am bewildered by the magnificence
of your beauty
and wish to see you
with a hundred eyes

My heart has burned with passion
and has searched forever
for this wondrous beauty
that I now behold

I am ashamed
to call this love human
and afraid of God
to call it divine

Your fragrant breath
like the morning breeze
has come to the stillness of the garden
You have breathed new life into me
I have become your sunshine
and also your shadow

My soul is screaming in ecstasy
Every fiber of my being
is in love with you

Your effulgence
has lit a fire in my heart
for me
the earth and sky

My arrow of love
has arrived at the target
I am in the house of mercy
and my heart
is a place of prayer

~ Rumi
The Love Poems of RUMI
Translations by Farsi scholar Fereydoun Kia
Art by Eva Ruiz Art

The body is like a Love letter:...by Rumi

The body is like a Love letter:
Look into it and see whether
it's worthy to be read by the Beloved..!

Go into a corner,
open the letter,
and read what is in it,

See whether its words are
suitable for royalty.

If it isn't suitable, tear it to pieces,
write another letter,
and remedy the fault.

But don't think it's easy to open
the letter of the body;

Otherwise everyone would readily
discover the secret of the heart.

How difficult it is to open that letter!
It's only for the strong,
not for those playing games..!

~ Rumi
-- Mathnawi, IV:1564-1568
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996

You are forever my shining sun.....by Rumi

How long should i bear
this distressed life
because of hopes and fears

Give me some wine
rescue me for a while
from these hopes and fears

Hand me that cup
that flaming cup
the one that burns away

All those piled up thoughts
filling my brain
with hopes and fears

Pour into my throat
whatever has been
my share of life

Don't make me wait forever
like a knocker on a door
with hopes and fears

Give me a sip
of that water of life
to attain my inner spectrum

These moments i feel
i've lost all my colors
because of hopes and fears

Give me that fiery water
the one that even
the elixir wishes for

I crave forever more
the promised paradise
with hopes and fears

You are forever
my shining sun and
i am like this poem
restless with hopes and fears..!

~ Rumi
-- Ghazal 876
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Cal-Earth Press, 1995


Art by Laura Palick

Soul of souls is hidden...by Rumi

See how the hand is invisible
while the pen is writing;

the horse careening,
yet the rider is unseen;

the arrow flying,
but the bow out of sight;

individual souls existing,
while the Soul of souls is hidden.

~ Rumi,
Mathnawi II,1303-4
Art by Belle Heywood

Do you hear what the violin says about longing? by Rumi

Do you hear what the violin
says about longing?

The same as the stick, "I was once
a green branch in the wind."

We are all far from home.
Language is our caravan bell.

Don't stop anywhere.
The moment you're attracted to a place,
you grow bored with it.

Think of the big moves you've already made,
from a single cell to a human being!

Stay light-footed, and keep moving.
Turkish, Arabic, Greek, any tongue
is a wind that was formerly water.

As a breeze carries the ocean inside it,
so underneath every sentence is,
"Come back to the source."

A moth doesn't avoid flame.
The king lives in the city.

Why should I keep company with an owl
out here in the empty buildings?

If your donkey acts crazy and won't work,
apply the bullwhip to his head.
He'll understand.

Don't try to love him
back to his senses. Whack him!

~ Rumi
-- Version by Coleman Barks, from a
translation by John Moyne
"Say I am You"
Maypop, 1994

You are the Essence of the Essence...by Rumi

In the orchard and rose garden
I long to see your face.
In the taste of Sweetness
I long to kiss your lips.
In the shadows of passion
I long for your love.

Oh ! Supreme Lover !
Let me leave aside my worries.
The flowers are blooming
with the exultation of your Spirit.

By Beloved !
I long to escape the prison of my ego
and lose myself
in the mountains and the desert.

These sad and lonely people tire me.
I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of your love
and feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.

I'm sick of mortal kings
I long to see your light
With lamps in hand
The sheiks and mullahs roam
The dark alleys of these towns
not finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,
The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises
but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart .

~ Rumi

you are chosen for a blissful love..! ~ Rumi

Whenever you meet
someone deep drunk
yet full of wisdom
be aware and watch
this person is enthralled
only by love

Anytime you see
someone who seems gone
tipsy and happy
filled with rapture
be sure and observe
this is the condition
of someone in love

If you see a head
happy and thrilled
filled with joy
every night and day
this head was fondled
by the fingers of love

Every moment
someone is blessed
a tree sprouts
an angel flies
even a monster
leaps with delight

When your body
feels together
when your soul
wants to unite
you are chosen
for a blissful love..!

~ Rumi
-- Ghazal 2132
Translation by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994

Let our story be told in a silent way. ~ Rumi

Hidden from all eyes and ears
let us tell each other of our soul.

Smile like a rose with no lips
and keep silent like a thought.

Let us speak silently the secret like Spirit
and avoid talkers who use words in vain.

Let us join our hands
listen to every flutter of our heart
let us become one in silence.

Divine destiny knows our fate
to the last detail.
Let our story be told in a silent way.

~ Rumi

Have mercy upon your servant, my queen!...by Rabindranath Tagore

Servant.
Have mercy upon your servant, my queen!

Queen.
The assembly is over and my servants are all gone. 
Why do you come at this late hour?
Servant.
When you have finished with others, that is my time.
I come to ask what remains for your last servant to do.
Queen.
What can you expect when it is too late?
Servant.
Make me the gardener of your flower garden.

Queen. 
What folly is this?

Servant.
I will give up my other work.
I will throw my swords and lances down in the dust.
Do not send me to distant courts; do not bid me undertake new conquests.
But make me the gardener of your flower garden.
Queen.
What will your duties be?
Servant.
The service of your idle days.
I will keep fresh the grassy path where you walk in the morning,
where your feet will be greeted with praise at every step by
the flowers eager for death.
I will swing you in a swing among the branches of the
saptaparna, where the early evening moon will struggle
to kiss your skirt through the leaves.
I will replenish with scented oil the lamp that burns by your
bedside, and decorate your footstool with sandal and saffron
paste in wondrous designs.
Queen.
What will you have for your reward?
Servant.
To be allowed to hold your little fists like tender lotus-buds
and slip flower chains over your wrists;
to tinge the soles of your feet with the red juice
of ashoka petals and kiss away the speck of dust
that may chance to linger there.

Queen.
Your prayers are granted, my servant, 

you will be the gardener of my flower garden.





~ Rabindranath Tagore


From Gardner
Art The Accolade  by Edmund Blair Leighton

Everything except love is devoured by Love.....by Rumi

The wild beast wouldn't dare
to devour the flesh of the lover:

Love is recognized both
by the corrupt and by the good;

and if the beast should attempt
to rip the lover apart with words,
the lover's flesh will become a fatal poison.

To the beak of Love
the two worlds are but a single grain.

Everything except love
is devoured by Love.

~ Rumi
- Mathnawi V: 2724-2726
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Art Love by Monique Morales

Keep silence....by Rumi

How happy is the one
whose heart’s ear
heras that special voice
as it begins to arrive

clear your ears my friend
from all impurity
a polluted ear
can never hear the sound
as it begins to arrive

If your eyes are marred
with petty visions
wash them with tears
your teardrops are healers
as they begin to arrive

Keep silence
don’t rush to finish your poem
the finisher of the poem
the creator of the word
will begin to arrive..!

~ Rumi
From: Rumi ” Fountain of Fire”
Translated by Nader Khalili
Art "Listening to the sounds of Harps" by...Peter Piatt

A stranger to myself ....by Rumi

Happy is the one
who doesn’t want to try
getting wealthy
or remaining poor..

Free of other people
and worldly worries
a stranger to himself
free in every way..

..What does it mean:
a stranger to myself ?

~ Rumi
From: Rumi “Dancing the Flame”
Translated by Nader Khalili

Prayer flags. Shey palace, Ladakh, India
© Amit Basu Photography

Sweet secrets...by Rumi

I can’t let you know
all the secrets..

I can’t open to you
all the doors..

there is something inside
that makes me happy..

but I can’t put my finger
on it’s source...!

~ Rumi
From: Rumi ” Dancing the Flame”
Translated by Nader Khalili

I am the Spirit Moon.....by Rumi

I am the Spirit Moon...
You do not see me for I am hidden
inside the soul.

Others want you for themselves but I call you
...back to yourself.

You give me many names but I am
beyond all names.

I am the garden of all gardens
I speak as the King of all flowers

I am the spring of all waters.
My words are like a ship and the sea
is their meaning.

Come to me and I will take you
to the depths of spirit..!

~ Rumi 

I’ll come back through the roof hole...by Rumi

How can I find
anywhere in this world
a more beautiful face
a more desired beloved

even the moon
is seeking for this love
to see it’s reflection
to find it’s adornment

if I ever talk about
going to travel
or leaving this town
break my teeth with no qualms

I’ve lost my feet
going to the sea of love
but like a boat
i need no feet to crawl

and even if you
throw me out of your door
i’ll come back
through the roof hole

because of your love
I’ll be dancing and floating
in this air as a speck of dust
to finally settle in your house

~ Rumi 

From: Rumi “Fountain of Fire”
Translated by Nader Khalili

Love is the religion in me...by Iba Arabi

The inner space inside
that we call the heart
has become many different
living scenes and stories.

A pasture for sleek gazelles,
a monastery for Christian monks,
a temple with Shiva dancing,
a kabba for pilgrimage,
a Medicine Wheel for the People. 

The tablets of Moses are there,
The Qur'an, the Vedas,
The sutras, the gospels,
And the teachings of the Old Ones. 

Love is the religion in me.
And whichever way love's camel goes,
that way becomes my faith,
the source of beauty and a light
of sacredness over all things.

~ Ibn Arabi

Oh sweet bitterness....by Rumi

"In my Hallucination
I saw my Beloved's flower garden...

In my vertigo, in my dizziness
In my drunken haze
Whirling and dancing like a spinning wheel
I saw myself as the Source of Existence

I was there in the beginning
And I was the Spirit of Love

Now I am sober
There is only the hangover
And the memory of Love
And only the sorrow

I yearn for Happiness
I ask for help
I want mercy
And my Love says:

Look at me and hear me
Because I am here
Just for that

I am your moon and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden and your water too
I have come all this way, eager for you
Without shoes or shawl

I want you to laugh
To kill all your worries
To Love you
To nourish you

Oh sweet bitterness
I will soothe you and Heal you
I will bring you roses
I, too, have been covered with thorns."
~ Rumi

Come on sweetheart let’s adore one another..BY Rumi

Come on sweetheart
let’s adore one another
before there is no more
of you and me

A mirror tells the truth
look at your grim face
brighten up and cast away
your bitter smile

A generous friend
gives life for a friend
let’s rise above this
animalistic behavior
and be kind to one another

Spite darkens friendships
why not cast away
malice from our heart

Once you think of me
dead and gone
you will make up with me
you will miss me
you may even adore me

Why be a worshiper of the dead
think of me as a goner
come and make up now

Since you will come
and throw kisses
at my tombstone later
why not give them to me now
this is me
that same person

I may talk too much
but my heart is silence
what else can i do
i am condemned to live this life

Why be a worshipper of the dead
think of me as gonner
Come , come & make up now

Since u will come & throw kisses
at my tombstone later
why not give them to me now
this is me the same person

I may talk to much
but my heart is silent
what else can i do
I m condemned
to live this life...!

~ Rumi

There is only one way to win him....by Rumi

Reason says,I will win him with my eloquence
Love says,I will win him with my silence
Soul says,how can I ever win him

When all I have is already his
...He does not want, he does not worry
He does not seek a sublime state of euphoria
How then can I win him

With sweet wine or gold
He is not bound by the senses
How then can I win him
With all the riches of China
He is an angel
Though he appears in the form of a man

Even angels cannot
fly in his presence
How then can I win him
By assuming a heavenly form

He flies on the wings of God
His food is pure light
How then can I win him

With a loaf of baked bread
He is neither a merchant, nor a tradesman
How then can I win him

With a plan of great profit
He is not blind, nor easily fooled
How then can I win him

By lying in bed as if gravely ill
I will go mad, pull out my hair
Grind my face in the dirt

How will this win him
He sees everything
How can I ever fool him

He is not a seeker of fame
A prince addicted to the praise of poets
How then can I win him

With flowing rhymes and poetic verses
The glory of his unseen form
Fills the whole universe

How then can I win him
With a mere promise of paradise
I may cover the earth with roses

I may fill the ocean with tears
I may shake the
heavens with praises
None of this will win him

There is
only one way to win him
This Beloved of mine
Become his

~ Rumi

But you are every sweet song of mine....!...by Rumi

You are my Love, you are my Beloved;
You are my heart, my soul, and the faith of mine.

By your breath I am alive;
What is one life? – you are a hundred lives of mine.

Without you, bread cannot feed a man;
You are the water and the bread of mine.

By your touch, poison becomes medicine;
You are the cure and the sweet nectar of mine.

You are the garden, the grass, and the heavens;
You are the cypress, and the laughing jasmine of mine.

I have entered that supreme silence.
Please, you go on . . .
My mouth may open, words may come out,
But you are every sweet song of mine....!

~ Rumi
-- Ode 3365
Version by Jonathan Star
"A Garden Beyond Paradise: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi"
Bantam Books, 1992

The carpet of the kingdom...by Rumi

Once the mirror of your heart
is clear and pure,

you will see images
beyond this world of water and clay.

You will see both
the image and the Maker of images,

You will see both
the carpet of the kingdom
and Him who lays the carpet.

~ Rumi
-- Mathnawi II: 72,73
Muriel Maufroy
Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi
Sanyar Press - London, 1997

Be careful what you ask for...by Hafiz

Wake up Winebringer! And pour me a glass of wine.
Throw dust on the head of this sad earth man.

I’ve taken off my snazzy blue coat and bare-chested
I clutch this full cup.

Even though the rich or the politicians call us “trash,”
To us their blue blood or fame means nothing.

Give me more wine! All their dust blowing around in the wind of pride
And desire is as worthless as a hole.

The smoke from my burning heart
Gags all those with ignorance as their goal.

My mad heart has a secret
That no one knows.

The Beloved has stolen even the sweet solitude from my heart,
And I am content.

No one who has ever laid eyes on this silver-limbed Cypress,
Would ever go looking in the woods for a cypress again.

“Hafez,” the voice of inner wine will say;
“Be careful what you ask for,
you may just get what you want!”

~ Hafiz

The remedy - for me was to love...by Rabia

The sky gave me its heart
because it knew mine was not large enough to care
for the earth the way it did.

Why is it that we think of Beloved so much?
Why is there so much talk
about love?

When an animal is wounded
no one has to tell it,
“You need to heal”;
so naturally it will nurse
itself the best it can.

My eye kept telling me, “Something is missing from
all I see.” So it went in search for the cure.

The cure for me was His beauty, the remedy -
for me was to
love.

~ Rabia
Art "Romeo and Juliet" by...James Bryan

Let’s love silently...! ~ The Sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso

It doesn’t matter if you see me or not,
I am standing right there, with no emotion.

It doesn’t matter if you miss me or not,
my feeling is right there, it will stay forever..


It doesn’t matter if you love me or not,
love is right there, nothing is gonna to be changed.

It doesn’t matter if you follow me or not,
my hand is just in your hand, I will not let it go.

Let me embrace you
or let me live in your heart to eternity.
Let’s love silently...!

~ The Sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso

In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,

but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art.

~ Rumi

Art "Lesbia" by John Reinhard Weguelin 

You are the cure ...by Rumi

The real journey is right here.
The great excursion starts
from exactly where you are.

You are the world.
You have everything you need.

You are the secret.
You are the wide opened.

Don’t look for the remedy for your troubles
outside yourself.

You are the medicine.
You are the cure for your own sorrow.

~ Rumi

Should Love’s heart rejoice unless I burn?...BY Rumi

Should Love’s heart rejoice unless I burn?

For my heart is Love’s dwelling.
If You will burn Your house, burn it, Love!

Who will say, ‘It’s not allowed’?
Burn this house thoroughly!

The lover’s house improves with fire.
From now on I will make burning my aim,

From now on I will make burning my aim,
for I am like the candle: burning only makes me brighter.

Abandon sleep tonight; traverse fro one night
the region of the sleepless.

Look upon these lovers who have become distraught
and like moths have died in union with the One Beloved.

Look upon this ship of God’s creatures
and see how it is sunk in Love....!

~ Rumi

The jewel-lights intensify...by Rumi

‎"In these pages many mysteries are hinted at.
What if you come to understand one of them?"

"Words let water from an unseen, infinite ocean
Come into this place as energy for the dying and even the dead."

"Bored onlookers, but with such Light in our eyes! 
As we read this book, the jewel-lights intensify."



~ Rumi


Art "Shine on me" by Bob Solo 

Smile though your heart is aching...BY Nat King Cole

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking

When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying?

You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile...!


~ Nat King Cole

Merging with you is far sweeter....by Rumi

Since you are the one who takes life
It is the sweetest of all things to die.

Life is sweet
But merging with you is far sweeter.

Come into the garden!

Join the Friend of the Truth!

In his garden you'll drink the Water of Life,
though it seems like fire to die.

In one moment someone dies,

In the next moment someone is born.

There is a lot of coming and going
no one really dies
nor will I ever die.

Forget the body, become pure spirit.
Dance from here to the other world.

Don't stop Don't try to escape,
even if you are afraid to die.

I swear were it not for His pure nature
The wheel of heaven would turn to dust.

Merge with Him now,
And you'll be sweeter than halva
when it comes time to die.

Why hold on to this life? –
True living comes by giving up this life.
Why cling to one piece of gold? –
it is a mine of gold to die.

Escape from this cage
and breathe the scented air of His garden.
Break this hard shell –
It's like a shining pearl to die.

When God calls and pulls you close,
Going is like paradise –
It's like a heavenly river to die.

Death is only a mirror
And your true nature is reflected there.
See what the mirror is saying –
it's quite a sight to die!

If you are kind and faithful
Your death will also be that way.
If you are cruel and faithless,
that is the way you will die.

If you are like Joseph,
full of goodness,
That's how your mirror will be.
If not, you will see
only fear and torment
when it comes time to die.

These words are sweet,
but they always fade.
Shhhh . . . The eternal Khezr
and the Water of Life
have no idea what it means to die.

~ Rumi

-- Version by Jonathan Star
"A Garden Beyond Paradise: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi"
Bantam Books, 1992


ART "Joy Of Freedom" - by Freydoon Rassouli