PoemLike This
Author / PoetRumi
ReferenceFrom ‘The Essential Rumi’, Translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne
TagsDance, Fragrance, Spirit

If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say,

Like this.

When someone mentions the gracefulness
of the nightsky, climb up on the roof
and dance and say,

Like this.

If anyone wants to know what “spirit” is,
or what “God’s fragrance” means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.

Like this.

When someone quotes the old poetic image
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
slowly loosen knot by knot the strings
of your robe.

Like this.

If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,
don’t try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips.

Like this. Like this.

When someone asks what it means
to “die for love,” point
here.

If someone asks how tall I am, frown
and measure with your fingers the space
between the creases on your forehead.

This tall.

The soul sometimes leaves the body, the returns.
When someone doesn’t believe that,
walk back into my house.

Like this.

When lovers moan,
they’re telling our story.

Like this.

I am a sky where spirits live.
Stare into this deepening blue,
while the breeze says a secret.

Like this.

When someone asks what there is to do,
light the candle in his hand.

Like this.

How did Joseph’s scent come to Jacob?

Huuuuu.

How did Jacob’s sight return?

Huuuu.

A little wind cleans the eyes.

Like this.

When Shams comes back from Tabriz,
he’ll put just his head around the edge
of the door to surprise us

Like this.

Rumi
Rumi
30 Sep 1207 - 17 Dec 1273
Region: Southern Asia
Period: Medieval
Movement: Sufi

more poems by Rumi

Poem NameTopic
The Ship Sunk In LoveBurn, Love, Sleepless
The Interest Without The CapitalExistence, Love, Reality
Stay Close, My HeartFlowers, Heart, Soul
Love is The MasterDestiny, Fool, Hurricane
Whispers of LoveFool, Whisper
Mathnawi VI: 2955-2962Spirit
At the Hour of the Morning DrinkDrink, Morninge, Truth
Mathnawi VI: 255-260Beauty, Importance, Pure
Reason Says, “I Will Beguile Him With The Tongue”Angels, Love, Prisoner
I Have Come So That, Tugging Your EarHeart, Rose, Soul

all poems by Rumi

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