—Photo by Katy Brown, Davis
FOUR POEMS ON THE NIGHT
—Rumi
1
This night there are no limits to what may be given.
This is not a night but a marriage,
a couple whispering in bed in unison the same words.
Darkness simply lets down a curtain for that.
2
A night full of talking that hurts,
my worst held-back secrets: Everything
has to do with loving and not loving.
This night will pass.
Then we have work to do.
3
Night comes so people can sleep like fish
in black water. Then day.
Some people pick up their tools.
Others become the making itself.
4
Inside water, a waterwheel turns.
A star circulates with the moon.
We live in the night ocean wondering,
What are these lights?
(trans. by John Moyne and Coleman Barks)
—Rumi
1
This night there are no limits to what may be given.
This is not a night but a marriage,
a couple whispering in bed in unison the same words.
Darkness simply lets down a curtain for that.
2
A night full of talking that hurts,
my worst held-back secrets: Everything
has to do with loving and not loving.
This night will pass.
Then we have work to do.
3
Night comes so people can sleep like fish
in black water. Then day.
Some people pick up their tools.
Others become the making itself.
4
Inside water, a waterwheel turns.
A star circulates with the moon.
We live in the night ocean wondering,
What are these lights?
(trans. by John Moyne and Coleman Barks)
______________________
—Medusa
