Candlelight Becomes Moth | Rumi Poem

This poem by Rumi guides the seeker to become the love they seek. Inside the lover’s heart, new worlds open, and as we climb ladders of intellect and compassion, we dissolve into forgiveness and grace. In Shams’s universe, the seeker and the love become one, like a moth drawn to its flame.

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 Patrick Langwallner.
Translation by Coleman Barks.

Transcript

Inside a lover's heart there is another world, And yet another. Inside the friend of this community of lovers, An ear that interprets mystery, A vein of silver in the ground, And another sky. Intellect and compassion are ladders we climb, And there are other ladders as we walk the night hearing a voice that talks of forgiveness. Inside Shams' universe, Candlelight itself becomes a moth to die in his candle.