PoetryFree BooksAuthors

The Moon-Soul and the Sea

by Rumi
Translated by R. A. Nicholson (1898) · From Dīvāni Shamsi Tabrīz

At morning-tide a moon appeared in the sky,
And descended from the sky and gazed on me.
Like a falcon which snatches a bird at the time of hunting,
That moon snatched me up and coursed over the sky.
When I looked at myself, I saw myself no more,
Because in that moon my body became by grace even as soul.
When I travelled in soul, I saw naught save the moon,
Till the secret of the Eternal Theophany was revealed.
The nine spheres of heaven were all merged in that moon,
The vessel of my being was completely hidden in the sea.
The sea broke into waves, and again Wisdom rose
And cast abroad a voice; so it happened and thus it befell.
Foamed the sea, and at every foam-fleck
Something took figure and something was bodied forth.
Every foam-fleck of body, which received a sign from that sea,
Melted straightway and turned to spirit in this Ocean.

This poem and this translation are in the public domain. Source text: Project Gutenberg.

More poems by Rumi

Keep reading

📰 From our blog: reading tips

📝

Famous Children’s Books Every Kid Should Read (and Which Are Free)

Read →
📝

What to Read: A Guide to the World’s Classics, Country by Country

Read →
📝

What to Read for Russian Classics: Where to Start, Reading Order & Free Books

Read →
📝

What to Read for British Classics: Where to Start, Reading Order & Free Books

Read →

All reading tips & book lists →