are putting their fingers to their lips and saying,
"That's enough for now. Shhhhh"
Silence is an ocean.
Speech is a river.
don't walk to the language-river.
and bring your talky business
to an end.
Rumi
in that Presence,
and babbling is a substitute for sight.
Rumi
Rumi
IS THE DEATH
OF ALL THAT IS MORTAL...
IT IS NOW
AN UNWAVERING WAY OF LIFE.
ew
OF SUCH LIFE AFTER DEATH.
SUCH LIFE AS DEATH.
THE RETURN OF FULL LIFE
TO ONE WHO HAS NEVER DIED,
WHO HAS NEVER BORNED.
THIS IS THE LIBERATION
OF THE ALL.
ew
Death of Mortality
Rumi
Inside me a hundred beings
are putting their fingers to their lips and saying,
"That's enough for now. Shhhhh" Silence is an ocean.
Speech is a river.
When the Ocean is searching for you, don't walk to the language-river.
Listen to the Ocean,
and bring your talky business
to an end.
Traditional words are just babbling
in that Presence,
and babbling is a substitute for sight.
When you sit down beside your Beloved,
send the chaperones away,
the old women who brought you together.
When you are mature and with your love,
the love-letters and matchmakers
seem irritating.
You might read those letters,
but only to teach beginners about love.
One who sees grows silent.
When you're with one of those,
be still and quiet, unless he asks you
to talk. Then draw the words out
as I do this poem with Husam,
the Radiance of God.
I try to stop talking,
but he makes me continue.
Husam, if you are in the Vision,
why do you want me to say *words*?
Maybe it's like the poet Abu Nuwas,
who said in Arabic,
*Pour me some wine,
and talk to me about the wine*.
The Cup is at my mouth,
but my ear interrupts,
"I want some."
0 Ear, what you get is the heat.
You turn red with this wine.
But the ear says,
"I want more than that!"
~Rumi (Mathnawi, IV, 2061-2063, 2065-2080)
'This Longing' Coleman Barks / John Moyne
All quotes on this post are in
Death of Mortality
ew
My Docs - Booklet Series
Milestone Booklets
February 24, 2005
Harbour Island