Thou art wine and I am water......by Rumi

Before such spirit-bestowing Beauty, 
how should 
I not die ?

How should 
I not go mad and seize hold of
Thy chainlike tresses?

When I drink Thy wine,
how should
I not be obliterated?

Thou art wine and I am water,
Thou art honey and I am milk.

Open Thy mouth, that infinite candy --
if Thou acceptest not my excuses, well,
I accept Thy blandishments!

Dost Thou know why I laugh?
Because of my own high aspiration
in the city of Thy Love,
I am the prince of lovers!

I and eternal Love were born into the world
from a single womb
though I appear as a new lover,
by God I am exceedingly ancient!

If you open your own eye,
you will be fitting only for yourself.
But if you find this vision,
you will know that I am peerless.

Like Men, I fire up the stove of all those
who are cold; and within the stove of warm spirits,
my dough is cooked to the greatest perfection!

In my gentleness, I am like milk
I never become caught in the throat.
Make no mistakes, though
I be salty like cheese!

In my love for Beloved Shams , I am a sultan
wearing a crown
but when he comes to the throne,
I am his vizier*.

~ Rumi
Ghazal 1695,
From Rumi's "Diwan-e Shams"
Translation by Professor William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
SUNY Press, Albany, 1983

*A vizier is a high executive officer of various Muslim
countries and especially of the Ottoman Empire.

Art by Michelle Scott

The wine of divine Grace is limitless.....by Rumi

The wine of divine Grace is limitless.

All limits come only
from the limitation of the cup.

Moonlight floods the whole sky
from horizon to horizon,

How much it can fill your room
depends on its windows.

Grant a great dignity, my friend,
to the cup of your life;

Love has designed it
to hold His eternal wine.

~ Rumi
Wine and Cup
From Mathnavwi
Teachings of Rumi
by Andrew Hervy

Spiritual wine has a subtler taste......Rumi

The intellectual quest is exquisite like pearls and coral,
But it is not the same as the spiritual quest.

The spiritual quest is on another level altogether,
Spiritual wine has a subtler taste.

The intellect and the senses investigate cause and effect.
The spiritual seeker surrenders to the wonder.

~ Rumi 

Spiritual wine is another substance....BY Rumi

The intellectual quest, 
though fine as pearl or coral,
is not the spiritual search.

The spiritual search is on another level;
spiritual wine is another substance!

The spiritual path wrecks the body
and afterwards restores it to health.

It destroys the house to unearth the treasure
and with that treasure builds it better than before.

~ Rumi
Rumi J. Mathanwi I
translated by C Helmminski, K Helmminski
In: Rumi: Daylight.
Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala, 1999

Look, the wine is in the green grape, existence in nothingness..by Rumi

Look, 
the wine is in the green grape, 
existence in nothingness!

Beloved , 
I beg you, see in your pit
the crown and the kingdom!

A thorn
that has not blossomed
cannot illumine the field;

How can a being
made of water and clay find life
If Divine Breath does not Itself kindle it?

Clap your hands,
clap your hands again,
and know each sound

Has its origin
in the Wine's own self-surrender!

Be silent!
Spring is here!
The rose is dancing with its thorn.

Beauties have come
from the Invisible to call you home.

~ Jalal-ud-Din Rumi