Wilder Than We Ever | Rumi Poem

Rumi's poem "Wilder Than We Ever" contemplates the zikr itself. Zikr means remembrance. In a practical sense it refers to the internal or external repetition of the phrase, La’illaha il’ Allahu (There is nothing other than You, O God. You alone are God). Every anger, every love, every kindness, every fear and greed, every accident, cruelty, and terror, every gentleness. There You are, and we are That.

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 Tim Mossholder.

Transcript

The one who pours is wilder than we ever become drinking,

Wilder than wine.

The one who fills to the rim and leaves to live in absence with a toast.

Go home,

There's nothing for you here.

A pearl in the shell does not touch the ocean.

He a pearl without a shell,

A mindful flooding,

Candle-turned moth.

Head become empty jar,

Bird settling nest,

Love lived.