Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Only Breath









Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi translated by Coleman Barks

Only Breath

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim,
not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen.
Not any religion or cultural system.
I am not from the Eastor the West,
not out of the ocean or up, from the ground,
not natural or ethereal,
not composed of elements at all.

I do not exist,am not an entity in this world or the next,
did not descend from Adam or Eve or any, origin story.
My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless.

Neither body or soul.
I belong to the beloved, have seen the two
worlds as one and that one call to and know,
first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being.

2 comments:

The eternal optimist said...

That is a beautiful poem. You have spoken of a philosophy I live by. Wishing you the best and love from the other side of the world.

May you remain as you are... a beautiful breathing human being!

Kuan Gung said...

Thank you