Poem #1: In The Arc Of Your Mallet by Rumi
Don’t go anywhere without me.
Let nothing happen in the sky apart from me,
or on the ground, in this world or that world,
without my being in its happening.
Vision, see nothing I don’t see.
Language, say nothing.
The way the night knows itself with the moon,
be that with me. Be the rose
nearest to the thorn that I am.
I want to feel myself in you when you taste food,
in the arc of your mallet when you work,
when you visit friends, when you go
up on the roof by yourself at night.
There’s nothing worse than to walk out along the street
without you. I don’t know where I’m going.
You’re the road, and the knower of roads,
more than maps, more than love.
Poem #2: Untitled from The Hidden Music by Rumi
My heart, sit only with those
who know and understand you.
Sit only under a tree
that is full of blossoms.
In the bazaar of herbs and potions
don’t wander aimlessly
find the shop with a potion that is sweet
If you don’t have a measure
people will rob you in no time.
You will take counterfeit coins
thinking they are real.
Don’t fill your bowl with food from
every boiling pot you see.
Not every joke is humorous, so don’t search
for meaning where there isn’t one.
Not every eye can see,
not every sea is full of pearls.
My heart, sing the song of longing
like nightingale.
The sound of your voice casts a spell
on every stone, on every thorn.
First, lay down your head
then one by one
let go of all distractions.
Embrace the light and let it guide you
beyond the winds of desire.
There you will find a spring and nourished by its sea waters
like a tree you will bear fruit forever.
—
Through his poems, Jalaluddin Rumi expresses two opposing experiences regarding the effect of love, with In the Arc of Your Mallet conveying a passionate tone in contrast to Untitled from The Hidden Music which exposes a cautionary tone. Rumi begins In the Arc of Your Mallet by addressing his lover who he longs for and symbolizes as “the road, and the knower of roads.” On the other hand, Rumi writes Untitled as a letter to himself advising him to be guarded regarding love, and to not “fill your bowl with food from every boiling pot you see,” which shows Rumi’s attempt to be patient and observant toward finding love. Both poems heavily utilize hyperboles but for different intentions, with Rumi pleading his lover in In the Arc of Your Mallet to “not go anywhere without me” and to “see nothing I don’t see,” in contrast to in Untitled where “the sound of your voice casts a spell on every stone, on every thorn.” Through this hyperbole, Rumi criticises his heart to continuously fall for pleasure despite his brain disagreeing. Moreover, Rumi’s heavy usage of imagery of nature in both poems emphasize his emotions. In In the Arc of Your Mallet, Rumi represents himself as the thorns, and his lover as the rose, which conveys submissive tone towards his lover. On the other hand, in Untitled Rumi continuously refers to the trees’ flowers as virtuous rewards compared to his other sights. Rumi connects his wanting to “feel myself in you when you taste food” in In the Arc of Mallet to his advice in Untitled where he tells himself, “Don’t fill your bowl with food from every boiling pot you see,” through which expresses his expectations from physical love and reminds himself of the corruption brought by lust. While In the Arc of Your Mallet emphasizes Rumi’s emotions by personifying the night, which “knows itself with the moon,” Untitled highlights Rumi’s subtle conveyance of impatience through similes including his comparison to the nightingale, where Rumi persuades himself that his torturous longing will soon bring him his true love (the fruit that he, the tree, will forever bear). In the Arc of Your Mallet’s romantic address contrasts to Untitled cautionary guidance, yet both contain Rumi’s strong emotions toward love, exposing the dispute between patience and craving.
aanokhi 