Roses Underfoot | Rumi Poem

This poem by Rumi takes us on a journey to the heart, where longing and love quietly transform us. It speaks of a deep inner discovery, like pearls appearing on the shore, and roses blooming at our feet. Each step is a quiet unfolding, revealing a hidden wholeness within us.

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

The sound of psalms rising as waves diminish down in prayer, Hoping for some trace of the one whose trace does not appear. If anyone asks you to say who you are, Say without hesitation. Soul within soul within soul. There is a pearl diver who does not know how to swim. No matter, Pearls are handed him on the beach. We lovers laugh to hear, This should be more that and that more this, Coming from people sitting in a wagon, Tilted in a ditch. Going in search of the heart, I found a huge rose, And roses under all our feet. How to say this to someone who denies it? The robe we wear is the sky's cloth. Everything is soul and flowering.