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<<Previous Poem | View All Poems by Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi |

You are closer to me than myself (Ghazal 2798)

Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi poetry, Muslim / Sufi, Muslim / Sufi poetry,  poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry,  poetry by Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi
(1207 - 1273) Timeline

English version by
Azima Melita Kolin and Maryam Mafi

Original Language
Persian/Farsi

Muslim / Sufi
13th Century

My love, you are closer to me than myself,
you shine through my eyes.
Your light is brighter than the Moon.
Step into the garden
so all the flowers, even the tall poplar
can kneel before your beauty.
Let your voice silence the lily
famous for its hundred tongues.
When you want to be kind you are
softer than the soul but when you withdraw
you can be so cold and harsh.

Dear one, you can be wild and rebellious but
when you meet him face to face
his charm will make you docile like the earth.
Throw away your shield and bare your chest
there is no stronger protection than him.

That's why when the dervish withdraws
from the world he covers all the cracks in the wall,
so the outside light cannot come though.
He knows that only the inner light
illuminates his world.

 

 

-- from Rumi: Hidden Music, Translated by Azima Melita Kolin / Translated by Maryam Mafi

Amazon.com

 

Themes

  Garden
  Light
  Lotus
  Lover and Beloved
  Moon


Recommended Books


Delicious Laughter: Rambunctious Teaching Stories from the Mathnawi of Jelaluddin Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks
East Window: Poems from Asia, Translated by W. S. Merwin
The Essential Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks
The Hand of Poetry: Five Mystic Poets of Persia, with Lectures by Inayat Khan, Translated by Coleman Barks
Holy Fire: Nine Visionary Poets and the Quest for Enlightenment, Edited by Daniel Halpern

More >>

 

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2010 by Ivan M. Granger.
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