This aloneness is worth more than a thousand lives.
This freedom is worth more than all the lands on earth.
To be one with the truth for just a moment,
Is worth more than the world and life itself.
– Rumi
Translated by Shahram Shiva
Postscript:
I came across this particular poem in a series of posts dealing with Ramadan, and it was so lovely I wanted to share. While the moments of truth (beauty, joy) that we have in our lives are overwhelming, the moments of solitude and quiet contemplation are no less beautiful and necessary. One of my favorite things about waking up early in the morning is this sense of stillness before the bustle of the day intrudes. As I type this out at four-thirty a.m., all I can hear is the morning chorus in fits and starts. The day stretches out before me, unmarked and full of potential.
We’ve run other poems by Rumi here. You can read more about Jalaluddin Rumi here and here.
Tagged: free verse, mystic, philosophy, Rumi, Shahram Shiva, translation