Rumi and me

I found a wonderful book in the library called The Soul of Rumi.Basically it has a short biography of him and his most touching,mystical and truthful pieces.They are so beautiful.Every time I read one, my heart feels like it created it.

Here are some favorites.

Amazed Mouth

The soul: a wide listening sky

with thousands of candles:when

anything is sold, soul gets given

in the cash:people waiting at a

door, a ladder leaning on a roof,

someone climbing down,the market

square bright with understanding.

Listening opens its amazed mouth.

~~~~~~~

No longer a stranger, you listen

all day to these crazy love words.

Like a bee you fill hundreds of homes with

honey, though yours is a long way from here.

Soul and the Old Woman

What is the soul? Consciousness.The more awareness,the

deeper the soul, and when

such essence overflows, you feel a sacredness around.It's

so simple to tell one who

puts on a robe and pretends to be a dervish from the real

thing.We know the taste

of pure water.Words can sound like a poem but not have

any juice,no flavor to

relish.How long do you look at pictures on a bathhouse

wall? Soul is what draws

you away from those pictures to talk with the old woman

who sits outside by the door

in the sun.She's half blind, but she has what soul loves

to flow into.She's kind;she weeps.

She makes quick personal decisions, and laughs so easily.

Feet Becoming Head

The sun came up differently today.

Souls move in the changing light.

Jupiter,the moon, the good luck

house we inhabit,the Friend,all

one presence today, this grand

health where we're servants to

each other. One who pours wine

and makes toasts arrives at the

banquet just as it's over:the

perfect beginning for ending,as

feet become head in this new way.