The One Who Left | Rumi Poem

This poem by Rumi is about bringing back the part of us that has wandered away. It hints that promises, distractions, and outer beauty can easily pull our attention outward, while real peace appears when we return to simple presence. When we sit quietly within that presence, we recognize that what we were searching for outside has always lived here.

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 Elijah Pilchard.
Translation by Coleman Barks.

Transcript

Bring back the one who left, Lure him with music or any irresistible pretext. If he says, I will be there in a little while, That is part of his beguiling, His art that can tie strands of water into knots and make weavings of the wind. Do not accept those, Bring the presence, Sit down within that and live inside what is beyond physical beauty, Beyond the sun's extravagance or the handsomeness of human beings. Yemen has the most exquisite rubies, But the one I want to see coming through the door is the one who lives here.