Do Not Run Away from Me

Do not run away from me!

Did I not tell you, in this empty fantasy,

even if for centuries you wander angrily,

you will never find another true companion like me.

You may cross a thousand deserts,

following caravans beneath unfamiliar stars;

yet every road beneath your restless feet

will quietly curve back toward my heart.

You may drink from distant fountains,

seeking sweetness in every passing face;

but the thirst that carries my name

will remain untouched within you.

Do not mistake separation for freedom.

A bird may escape from its cage,

yet still circle the house

where it first learned how to sing.

I have not loved you with ordinary love—

the kind that flowers in spring

and disappears when winter

lays its cold hand upon the garden.

I loved you before the first dawn

opened its golden eyes;

before the moon learned

to follow the longing sea.

Be angry, then.

Scatter my letters into the wind.

The wind itself is my messenger;

it will whisper every word back to you.

Hide behind silence,

behind distance, behind pride—

but how will you hide from the One

who lives inside your breathing?

When the night grows endless

and no lamp remains beside you,

close your eyes:

you will find me burning there.

I am not asking you to return

with apologies or explanations.

Love keeps no account

of who departed and who remained.

Come as rain comes to the earth—

without shame for having wandered.

Come as the river comes to the sea—

empty of every name but surrender.

And should you travel for centuries,

through every kingdom of this world,

your final step will bring you here—

where I have always waited within you.

~ Rumi

1st Stranga is by Rumi additions and editing in poem by Andy Lal

See less