Fountain of Fire

I was ready

to tell
the story of my life

but the ripple of tears
and the agony of my heart
wouldn’t let me

I began to stutter

saying a word here and there
and all along I felt
as tender as a crystal
ready to be shattered

in this stormy sea
we call life
all the big ships
come apart
board by board

how can I survive
riding a lonely
little boat
with no oars
and no arms

my boat did finally break
by the waves
and I broke free
as I tied myself
to a single board

Though the panic is gone,

I am now offended

Why should I be so helpless
rising with one wave
and falling with the next

I don’t know
if I am nonexistence

while I exist
but I know for sure
when I am
I am not
but
when I am not

then I am

now how can I be
a skeptic
about the
resurrection and
coming to life again

since in this world
I have many times
like my own imagination
died and
been born again

that is why
after a long agonizing life
as a hunter
I finally let go and got
hunted down and became free

From: Rumi ” Fountain of Fire”
translated by Nader Khalili