To a frog that’s never left his pond the ocean seems like a gamble.
Look what he’s giving up: security, mastery of his world, recognition!
The ocean frog just shakes his head. ‘I can’t really explain what it’s like where I live, but someday I’ll take you there.’
If you want what visible reality
Can give, you’re and employee.
If you want the unseen world,
you’re not living your truth.
Both wishes are foolish,
but you’ll be forgiven for forgetting
that what you really want is
love’s confusing joy.
Gamble everything for love,
if you’re a true human being.
If not, leave
this gathering.
Half-heartedness doesn’t reach
into majesty. You set out
to find God, but then you keep
stopping for long periods
at mean-spirited roadhouses.
In a boat down a fast-running creek,
it feels like trees on the bank
are rushing by. What seems
to be changing around us
is rather the speed of our craft
leaving this world.
From Rumi – Selected Poems
Translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne
Links
(Coleman Barks) (Rumi) (Rumi Poems)