The mind is an ocean. . .and so many worlds
Are rolling there, mysterious, dimly seen!
And our bodies? Our body is a cup, floating
On the ocean; soon it will fill, and sink. . .
Not even one bubble will show where it went down.
The spirit is so near that you can’t see it!
But reach for it. . .Don’t be a jar
Full of water, whose rim is always dry.
Don’t be the rider who gallops all night
And never sees the horse that is beneath him.
translated by Robert Bly
This was my first Rumi poem I read (translated by Bly), part of a college course. A whole day was spent with the students with the professor’s enlightened guidance seeking to understand what was being expressed through Rumi through the poem through them. I think it was the first time I truly internalized the beauty of a poem’s beauty through undefinability and authenticity of soul.
Rumi is an experience and to be exposed while young is certainly the way to make him part of one’s life.