The Agony and Ecstasy of Divine Discontent

by the poet

Jelaluddin Rumi – 13th century Persia

In the orchard and rose garden
I long to see your face.
In the taste of Sweetness
I long to kiss your lips.
In the shadows of passion
I long for your love.

Oh! Supreme Lover!
Let me leave aside my worries.
The flowers are blooming
with the exultation of your Spirit.

By Allah!
I long to escape the prison of my ego
and lose myself
in the mountains and the desert.

These sad and lonely people tire me.
I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of your love
and feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.

I’m sick of mortal kings.
I long to see your light.
With lamps in hand
the sheiks and mullahs roam
the dark alleys of these towns
not finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,
The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises
but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart.

READER COMMENTS:

1. Rumi is intoxicated with love for God and the ecstasy of knowing the one true Source. In the Bible, The Song of Solomon is a similar exposition. Both works are attempts to explain a spiritual need that is very difficult to comprehend. Jewish rabbis refer to communion with Adonai as true “Moments of Ascent”.

2. Rustam is a famous hero found in the great Persian Epic of the Kings, Shahname, by Firdaus (completed around 1010 CE).