The Soul of My Love

I am not of this world nor the next,
not of heaven, nor of purgatory.
My place is the placeless,
my trace is the traceless.
It is not the body nor is it the soul,
for I belong to the soul of my love.
I have put duality away
and seen the two worlds as one.

One I seek, One I know.
One I see, One I call.
He is First, He is Last.
He is the Outward, He is the Inward.
I know of nothing but Hu, none but Him.
Intoxicated with the cup of Love,
two worlds slip from my hands.

I am occupied with nothing
but fun and carousing.
If once in my life I pass a moment without You,
I repent my life from that moment on.
If once in this world
I should win a moment with You,
I will put both worlds under my feet
and dance forever in joy.

– Rumi

Excerpted from "I Am Not . . ."
From Love Is a Stranger: Selected Lyric Poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi,
translated by Kabir Helminski.

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• To Be Held and to Hold
• Lovemaking: Pathway to Truth, Harmony and Wholeness
• Making Love, Giving Life
• Getting It Right
• David Whyte: "To Be Courageous is to Stay Close to the Way We Are Made"
• The Many Manifestations of God's Loving Embrace
• The Longing for Love: God's Primal Beatitude
• Never Say It is Not God
• The Holy Pleasure of Intimacy
• Celebrating Our Sanctifying Truth
• "In Finding Myself, I Found God and My Voice"
• Charis
• Quote of the Day – November 16, 2011
• Your Scent I Know
• Be Just in My Heart
• The Most Sacred and Simple Mystery of All

Image: Subjects and photographer unknown.