At dawn a moon appeared from the waves
And ascended, gazing down at me. Then,
Like a falcon snatching a bird in flight,
It snatched me up and flew away.
When I looked up I no longer saw myself:
Into that moon my body had eased, by grace
Of the soul in which I travelled, moon-driven
Until the secret of God’s revelation halted me.
Nine spheres of Heaven had merged in that moon;
And the sea washed over the ship of my being,
Breaking against me in waves. Again Wisdom’s
Voice boomed; as it happens so it occurs.
At every foam-fleck of the ocean a figure
Emerged and slowly disappeared, just as
My foam-flecked body, receiving a sea-sign,
Melted within and slowly turned to spirit.
Without the regal power of Shams of Tabriz,
Holding the moon or becoming the sea are dreams.
-Rumi
May we always hold dear the gift of friendship.
