This We Have Now | Rumi Poem

Here's a wonderful poem by the great Rumi. 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. Love and gratitude to Coleman Barks for his beautiful translations and dedication. Photo by Meriç Dağlı.

Transcript

This we have now is not imagination,

This is not grief or joy,

Not a judging state or an elation or a sadness.

Those come and go,

This is the presence that doesn't.

It's Don Husam,

Here in the splendor of coral,

Inside the friend,

In the simple truth of what Allah said.

What else could human beings want?

When grapes turn to wine,

They're wanting this.

When the night sky pours by,

It's really a crowd of beggars and they all want some of this.

This we are now created the body,

Cell by cell like bees building a honeycomb.

The human body and the universe grew from this,

Not this from the universe and the human body.

This we have now is not imagination.