with just one breath left...by Rumi

"When you come back inside my chest,
no matter how far I've wandered off,

I look around, and see the way.

At the end of my life,

with just one breath left,
if you come then,
I'll sit up and sing."

~ Rumi

Put aside negation and worship only that Real Being....by Rumi

In discourse, 
negation is used in order to affirm: 

Stop negating 
and begin affirming. 

Come, stop saying
"this is not" and "that is not":

Bring forward that One
who has Real Being.

Put aside negation
and worship only that Real Being.

~ Rumi
Mathnawi VI: 640-642
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996

The Sunrise Ruby.....by Rumi

In the early morning hour,
just before dawn, lover and beloved awake
and take a drink of water.

She asks, Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell me the absolute truth.

He says, There is nothing left of me.
I am like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world
made of redness? It has no resistance
to sunlight. The ruby and the sunrise are one.
Be courageous and discipline yourself.

Work. Keep digging your well.
Don't think about getting off from work.
Submit to a daily practice.
Your loyalty to that is a ring on the door.

Keep knocking, and the joy inside
will eventually open a window
and look out to see who's there.

~ Rumi
A Year with Rumi
Daily Readings
By Coleman Barks
Art by Laura Iverson

Our drunkenness does not come from wine...by Rumi

Our drunkenness 
does not come from wine. 

The joy of our gathering 
does not come from the harp or rubaab. 

With no celestial beauty to fill our cup,
Without friends, without singing, without wine,

We burst out like madmen,
rolling drunk on the floor.

~ Rumi
Version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva
A Garden Beyond Paradise
Bantam Books, 1992

Tagore - Plack - Lisa Bonet - Nothing Lasts Forever

Nothing lasts forever
No one lives forever
Keep that in mind, and love

Our life is not the same old burden
Our path is not the same long journey

The flower fades and dies
We must pause to weave perfection into music
Keep that in mind, and love

Love droops towards its sunset
To be drowned in the golden shadows
Love must be called from its play
And love must be born again to be free
Keep that in mind, and love

Let us hurry to gather our flowers
Before they are plundered by the passing winds
It quickens our blood and brightens our eyes
To snatch kisses that would vanish
If we delayed

Our life is eager
Our desires are keen
For time rolls by
Keep that in mind, and love

Beauty is sweet for a short time
And then it is gone
Knowledge is precious
But we will never have time to complete it

All is done and finished
In eternal heaven
But our life here is eternally fresh
Keep that in mind, and love

~ Adap­ta­tion of a Ra­bindranath Tagore Po­em
The Gardener LXVIII: None Lives For Ever

http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/5073413#pm_cmp=vid_OEV_P_P