The Essential Rumi

[@alphanemo6121]

Thankyou David. I like th way you review books and writings.

[@DavidPeacockChannel]

Thanks!

[@I.C.Robledo]

Hi David - Thanks for this. I like to read Rumi's poetry but it's important to reflect on it and what it really means for our lives. About the love poem you mentioned... I read some things into it, but I agree it's not so direct in what it means. Then again, I think there can be joy in trying to decipher a good poem. (Though you raise a good point that it's always possible there's a flaw in a translation, or if not, something in culture/time periods that don't apply to us anymore.) Here are my thoughts on what the poem is saying: Love isn't subtle, it's powerful in what it does to us. Ultimately, it results in devastation. Break ups, or someone passes away, etc. Birds who are some of the most free animals, fly in circles or predictable patterns... so if they're really free, why do they do this? Every young bird falls at some point, and through falling and flapping, learns to fly... also, every young person learns love by falling in love. Even though we're all "free" and likely know that love ends in certain devastation, we use our freedom to continue in the predictable patterns of life, love, and loss... So we have to wonder, are we really free? And if we are really free, there must be something so worthy about love for us all to mostly go down that road. The second page sounds like it might be another poem on its own, to me... but it might be connected... It might be saying that love is very powerful, if you're going to use it, use it on something worthy. I'm not especially qualified to interpret Rumi, these are just my thoughts.

[@DavidPeacockChannel]

Yes, I like this interpretation. Great!