A Transparant Tree | Rumi Poem

This poem by Rumi hints at inner transformation. By surrendering the individual self to a vast, cosmic awareness, a deeper reality inside emerges. Which can bring a direct encounter with the divine spark, the meeting with Shams.

Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi, popularly known as "Rumi", is a 13th-century Sufi poet. Today, he is recognised as one of the greatest poets who ever lived, due in part to how his words seem to speak to the divine.

Photo by Max Saeling.
Translation by Coleman Barks.

Transcript

I have traded my soul for the universe. Do not speak. The jeweler who thought he was buying gold to work with now owns the mine. But Commer's metaphors are wrong. What has happened in me is more profound, Like a fish underwater beginning to say words. A transparent tree grows in the night sky orchard, Where I have found a little corner to be in, As when two planets intersect. I have met charms.