Rumi, Persian poet (1207- 1273)
Lord, said David, since you do not need us,
why did you create these two worlds?
Reality replied: O prisoner of time,
I was a secret treasure of kindness and generosity,
and I wished this treasure to be known,
so I created a mirror: its shining face, the heart;
its darkened back, the world;
The back would please you if you’ve never seen the face.
Has anyone ever produced a mirror out of mud and straw?
Yet clean away the mud and straw,
and a mirror might be revealed.
Until the juice ferments a while in the cask,
it isn’t wine. If you wish your heart to be bright,
you must do a little work.
This beautiful and haunting poem opens the novel Darshan by Irene Black.
According to the boyfriend of Neda whose death has so shocked the world, she loved poetry, especially Iran’s Rumi and America’s Robert Frost.
‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost is featured in The Winner Stands Alone.
Many have noticed the contrast between light and dark.
On the one hand we have Neda, a true Warrior of Light, on the other the darkness at the heart of the Supreme Being who gains sustenance through the shedding of blood of innocent people.
Brave people of Iran, have courage, you too must do a little work so that the death of Neda has not been in vain. You must take to the streets and rid the world of this evil regime.
Neda’s murder, her death; ours.
” If you wish your heart to be bright, you must do a little work ”
yeah rumi love, i know, i know, that is what they all say in the beginning a little work, that is juts the bait, and what one ends up with is not ‘just a little work’..
“prisoner of time “….hmmmmmmm, the way out it timelessness, and when is one in a timeless state, all have been at some point of time or other, those moments when time seemd / seems to stop.
love
aditya
Wonderful wise thoughts. So right. For my big shame, till this rebellion I was sure the people in Iran agreed with the political leader. What a surprise seeing it was so different the truth.
The Herald
Before you
numerous sculptures
and painters
have mounted gazelles
from blend of the leaves
and the trees
Or sketched
the herd of sheep
in the bosom of a mount
in search of a shepherd,
Or in a misty yet green forest
a grazing mare.
But you
You assemble the lines of likeness
Between sigh, tear, iron and cement
Between smoke, fire, pain and deceit.
For silence
for us
is not a virtue.
***
The silence of water
Is either drought
Or the cry of thirst.
The silence of wheat
Is either hunger
or the sobbing of dearth.
And the silence of the sun
That is the victory of darkness.
But the silence of man
Is the defeat of life
And of Spirit!
Sketch the scream!
Sketch this scream:
Our era
confined in the circle of scourge
And scorn!
And my neighbours,
Estranged from the divine
And from hope!
And our honour,
Is set callously on sale!
We,
We possessed all the words of the world
And we did not speak.
We did not speak
Of the awaited name,
For we were not denied
But one word,
One word:
Freedom!
We did not speak
But you drew.
You draw!
By Ahmad Shamlou
Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani
LOVE
Regards
HOMEIRA from IRAN
This could be a turning point…
I pray for the better…
Thank you for the picture and the poem Paulo, and creating a positive, supporting energy! It is sure to help!
Love!
Looking at the mirror
what do you see?>?
Do you see yourself
or one you wish not to be?
Looking at the mirror
What do you see?
DO you see yourself as is
or in another reality
Do you see hate? Do you see violence?
DO you see beauty? or you in a disguise?
Do you see Love? or DO you see happiness?
Do you see hope? in despair’s lullaby?
Looking at the mirror
WHat is that you see?
Do we see ourselves?
Or we are not who we wish to be?
Love and Graditude
Annie
Thank you so much, loved it.
Lovely verses dear Annie,
Most importantly… do we see the Truth…?
Love, Paul
Mud and straw
Fire and ash
Inner evolution will occur only by doing the necessary ‘work’
to reveal the bright heart in the mirror.
Until then, we have revolution, and the treasure will remain at arm’s length.
I think Rumi would be so disheartened to see the darkness that still exists. Pray for love. Pray for peace.
and what about Zesus, and Buddha and Krishna and Mohammad ! utter failures, have they been !!
aditya
The darker outside,the brighter inside.
Sooo beautiful…
This is beautiful, Shaima. Thanks for posting.
Savita
The Dream That Must Be Interpreted
This place is a dream.
Only a sleeper considers it real.
Then death comes like dawn,
and you wake up laughing
at what you thought was your grief.
But there’s a difference with this dream.
Everything cruel and unconscious
done in the illusion of the present world,
all that does not fade away at the death-waking.
It stays,
and it must be interpreted.
All the mean laughing,
all the quick, sexual wanting,
those torn coats of Joseph,
they change into powerful wolves
that you must face.
The retaliation that sometimes comes now,
the swift, payback hit,
is just a boy’s game
to what the other will be.
You know about circumcision here.
It’s full castration there!
And this groggy time we live,
this is what it’s like:
A man goes to sleep in the town
where he has always lived, and he dreams he’s living
in another town.
In the dream, he doesn’t remember
the town he’s sleeping in his bed in. He believes
the reality of the dream town.
The world is that kind of sleep.
The dust of many crumbled cities
settles over us like a forgetful doze,
but we are older than those cities.
We began as a mineral. We emerged into plant life
and into the animal state, and then into being human,
and always we have forgotten our former states,
except in early spring when we slightly recall
being green again.
That’s how a young person turns
toward a teacher. That’s how a baby leans
toward the breast, without knowing the secret
of its desire, yet turning instinctively.
Humankind is being led along an evolving course,
through this migration of intelligences,
and though we seem to be sleeping,
there is an inner wakefulness
that directs the dream,
and that will eventually startle us back
to the truth of who we are.
Shaima, Poetry of light and life. People around the world need to understand what is in “The Dream That Must Be Interpreted”, but I think the Warrior of Lights are more aware.
As the people of Iran voice their concerns and their future at this moment I pray that Rumi’s poetic energy ripples across Iran and the world.