On Rumi

Rumi

my dearest friend

mystic! seer!

ol’ Jalal a-din

your task is not to seek for love

you say

but merely to seek and find 

all the barriers

within yourself

that you 

have built

against

it

hearts of glass

hearts of oak

so many

hearts

have 

taken

the hit

time has its plans

I find it fit

time has a plan

a fucked up 

snowman

what’s in a poem not read aloud

only silence

you say

the

language

of God

Author's Note

Blahblahblah.

Reviews

[Buddhistboy73]

Rumi is one of my favourite poets.....

This is a short, and kinda humorous poem, but I'm not sure about the snowman line....

Anyways, thanks for reminding me of the great poet Rumi

BB73

[Curly Grace]

A thoughtful, inward piece. Rumi’s echo, time’s mischief, and that soft, God‑sized silence.

[John Sullivan]

Thank you for your thoughts.

"...that soft, God-sized silence..."

What a sentence can contain...

[Curly Grace]

I think that’s what I do...I compress the world into small sparks and see what breathes. That’s usually where the poems begin. Thank you for seeing it. I’ve noticed a few people call them Curly-isms...lol who knew I sure didn't :) Please send me some reading requests. I've been trying to do replies today, but I'd like to do some reading later this evening. Have a lovely day.

[John Sullivan]

Your a better poet than I lol. Though a few of my pieces have hit that height. Not many. Like I've been telling others, I need to reevaluate where I am as a writer, focus my thoughts and images. Compress an idea into a single image or theme or expression. Or do it better on average than I've been doing. Anyways. I will absolutely send along some writing, thank you for your time.

[Soren]

It is in the inane that there is wisdom, where silence speaks more than words. A lovely write

[John Sullivan]

Really, it's an uneven piece, as has been a lot of my later stuff. I need to reevaluate as a poet, focus less on writing off the cuff. Sharpen my thoughts and my images and my meanings, edit and rewrite. Thank you my friend, for your kind words.

[Ken Simm.]

Interesting, very. Sometimes sad sometimes whimsical but all through it makes for serious consideration of each and every line. Just like Rumi one of my favourites.

[John Sullivan]

By happenstance Rumi quotes are making the rounds on another website I frequent. Maybe no finer mind of a certain path of thought. I wouldn't say my poem is very good, as I told Soren, I'm coming to the realization I need to change my approach as a writer, focus on themes a little better, write a little less vaguely and off the cuff... but your kind thoughts mean very much indeed. Thank you for reading.

[Davidgeo]

Some of my best moments have come from blahlbahblah.

Just ask my attorney, Bob Loblaw or check out his page www.bobloblawlawblog.com

Don't stop with the blahblah... one time out of ten is good enough. You might find magic my friend.

[John Sullivan]

Why should you go to jail for a crime someone else noticed? :P

[Davidgeo]

bees? Beads. Beads! "job's not a fan"

[John Sullivan]

*sniff*

I don't care for Job.

[Davidgeo]

I don't understand the question, and I wont respond to it.

[Lorry]

Wouldnt it be delightful if Writerscafe was full of... please forgive as I can't recall the name for his followers, so Rumi-ites will have to do.
Maybe replace the haters, the ones who are experts on everything, except being decent and the general dwellers of the most pit of rancid bile that infect us all on here. But please, no names as they'll only get excited in a most inappropriate way at what they tragically see as fame.
But enough about those rancid pustules of distended rectum. The ones who got life so wrong that even their DNA denies they are from the human gene. The.... I could go on but I guess you see the point im making. Unless of course you are blind and only sense the point with every other sense of your being.
We all could be doing a bit more to help others, unless of course they are in the above mentioned category of life fails, which is where my new idea comes in. As my help to humanity I shall picket the mightiest of leaders (except Trump, because I think he's on the darkside) to make it a new worldwide law to lifelong long punishment negative Nellie's by forcing them to go through life with only dial up broadband. Then well see if they have so bloody much to say! 😃
Peace and love. Now go in peace my child! 😃
Ps... are you as amazed as I am that I did not use a single wearable in my rant...I mean review! 😃

[John Sullivan]

Cool story, bro.

[emmajoygreen]

'only silence
you say
the
language
of God'

If one needs feel for a Heaven, feel for whichever Heaven is right for both spirit and heart - then, use their example with the gentlest care. Remember: 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' That stills and fills what a searching human
should desire. Living for others rather than self is what most Great Books request.

I try.

[John Sullivan]

I... am fortunate enough to volunteer in my community here in the States. Life has ultimately been OK to me. I am in a position to give back a little bit IRL, and I do. In fact, I'm thinking of doing additional work in my community, hopefully along the lines of helping feed the poor. Something to do with food, the great panacea. To try to give where we may.... I do believe you are on to something, Ms. Emma. Its... what I can do right now, precious little though it is.

[redzone]

A lot of introspection in this poem, John. It seems that introspection is the weapon of the middle classes. The poor, too busy with survival and the rich could give a f**k. But we who live in the middle all over the world, wonder and worry about their lives, or the direction they are headed. In some ways Rumi (at least my understanding of him and his writings) was a kind of spokesperson for this. While he did see the world around him and its horrors, he focused on internalizing this, or perhaps better said, how to train ones self to be the best you can be within the madness.

Why do we write poetry? Is it to be "silent"? Or, is it to shout loudly and express, communicate in a way that makes others feel, appreciate what is around us, and act in ways that make us more humane. It is easy to be stoic, much harder to be humane. And as always the choice is ours to make.

Your poem made me think, John, something that is both good or bad, depending on your viewpoint. I enjoyed reading your poem.
-Curt

[John Sullivan]

That is what I get from Rumi as well. To mind the inner world. I believe in such things, and their power. Stoicism versus humanity? It is our lot to be poets, maybe a strange blessing. If we do our jobs right, we'll never lose our humanity. Very true point about the classes, for better or worse. Thanks so much for reading.

[Desert Knave]

" ... silence ... the language of God". Wow. No, I will not pretend to understand the entirety, as I'm not too familiar with Rumi, but your words flow and it is a pretty piece to read out loud. ~Jim

[John Sullivan]

It's an uneven piece, a lot of my most recent stuff is. I'm out of the habit of editing, I tend to just write and publish. Rumi is wonderful, however. An old Iranian/Persian writer with a lot to say about life and spirituality. This piece is a bit of an homage, and not a great one. Wonderful to hear from ya Jim, all the same.