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Well this is the first time I see this area. Recently I acquired a new kitten and named him Rumi after the thirteenth century Sufi mystic poet Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi. His poetry touches me the same way that Leonard's does. Here is a link to a site with many of his poems. http://www.khamush.com/ his poems were, from what I have heard spontanious, luckily they were recorded and translated. There are so many excellent poems. This poem I have on the wall in my bedroom/office.

You are happy, happy, but I am a thousand times happier!
Whom have I encountered in my dream last night? I know not.
I am so happy, I cannot be contained in the world; but like a spirit, I am hidden from the eyes of the world.
If the foot of the trees were not tied to earth, they would be pursuing me; for I have blossomed so much, I am the envy of the gardens.
Rumi

This is a marriage poem I edited and used in a film that I shot recently. If I ever marry I would use this.

This Marriage - Ode 2667
May these vows and this marriage be blessed.
May it be sweet milk,
this marriage, like wine and halvah.
May this marriage offer fruit and shade
like the date palm.
May this marriage be full of laughter,
our every day a day in paradise.
May this marriage be a sign of compassion,
a seal of happiness here and hereafter.
May this marriage have a fair face and a good name,
an omen as welcome
as the moon in a clear blue sky.
I am out of words to describe
how spirit mingles in this marriage.

Here is one with hints of Buddhism, maybe Sufi's believe in reincarnation. I would request this at my funeral

I died from minerality and became vegetable;
And From vegetativeness I died and became animal.
I died from animality and became man.
Then why fear disappearance through death?
Next time I shall die
Bringing forth wings and feathers like angels;
After that, soaring higher than angels -
What you cannot imagine,
I shall be that.

Enough have to go back to work

I also love Rumi, Tri-me. Wonderful selections you've brought. I really love the one on marriage. The one regarding the gardens reminds me of how much humour he also incorporated into his poetry.

It is soooooo peaceful to just sit and read him, or listen to recordings of others doing it. I have some by Coleman Barks and one by Deepak Chopra "A Gift of Love," with various celebrities. Their renderings sound more 'sexualized' than Coleman's, however. I went to see Barks do readings several years ago. He was accompanied by some exquisite, minimalist musicians. Wonderful. This link looks very interesting in that way, too ~ [from Google]

"Shiva is the only major presenter in the West who performs Rumi's poetry in his ... classical/folk music of Persia and it was one his Rumi recordings that I ...
http://www.rumi.net/about_shahram_shiva_main.htm"

Coleman shared some anecdotes about and read some poetry of Mary Oliver, whom he dubbed as someone whom he considers to be "the greatest living Sufi poet." One of her poems he read was about three old women visiting a graveyard, one of them, a blind woman, just having lost her husband of many years. She collapses on the ground and Mary speaks of her grieving as "at last, perfectly broken." If I'm not perfect on the details and my quote, that is for absolute certain the jist. I'll locate the poem and place it here.

Welcome to "Other Poetry" .

~ Lizzy

Me too! A Rumi-lover, that is. His poems are so exuberant, so full of the joy of living.

I also love Mary Oliver. I don't think I've read that particular poem you mentioned Lizzy, please do paste it here if you find it! I have been trying to narrow down a favourite of mine to post, and decided on this one, as it has smells in it, so fits in with the smelly thread:

In Blackwater Woods, Mary Oliver

Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars

of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,

the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders

of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is

nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned

in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side

is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

--------------------------------------------

Love and light,

Diane

Take someone who doesn't keep score,
who's not looking to be richer, or afraid of losing,
who has not the slightest interest even
is his own personality: he's free.
Rumi

I am going to be taking up studying how to serve those who are dying and the loved ones after someone has died. Will be talking with my Meditation Instructor this evening. This like many things in my life just seem to come to me, I have worked with many people who are critically ill. It is an honour to serve them at this stage of their life.

Inside the Great Mystery that is,
we don't really own anything.
What is this competition we feel then,
before we go, one at a time, through the same gate?
Rumi

how did that happen my last post went in as guest

Add me to the Rumi admirers list. By the way, this last weekend I
attended a benefit concert for the New Orleans evacuees that was
mostly Kirtan (the musicians were from a New Orleans Yoga school
that was ruined by the floods). They are touring across the U.S.A.
as part of their musical fundraising campaign. One of the songs
they did was a musical rendition of a Rumi poem that thanked
G-d for all that is wrought, as each of the challenges brings a
learning opportunity. I don't remember the title and can't find
it in my collection of Rumi poetry. Hearing the song reminded
me of Leonard Cohen's "The Guests." Cohen's song and Rumi's
poem, if heard in the context of providing spaciousness for whatever
comes our way are complementary and life-affirming.

It must be something to hear Rumi set to music, Lizzy and Steven .

Tri-Me, it is wonderful that you are Buddhist and working with the dying. My cousin has cancer and she persuaded me to go on a Buddhist retreat with her back in February. She found it very comforting to be in such a peaceful and accepting environment.

I am not Buddhist, but I do have an interest. I had no idea what to expect on the retreat, and rather thought I was going to be bored "sitting around all day, doing nothing"! However, I found the experience to be quite incredible, and would not have missed it for the world. It felt almost overwhelming to return to the speed and noise of "real" life after five days on retreat. These two Rumi poems, below, made a lot of sense to me at that time, particularly the lines that say "your old life was a frantic running from silence":

Quietness

Inside this new love, die.
Your way begins on the other side.
Become the sky.
Take an axe to the prison wall.
Escape.
Walk out like someone suddenly born into color.
Do it now.
You’re covered with thick cloud.
Slide out the side. Die,
and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign
that you’ve died.
Your old life was a frantic running
from silence.
The speechless full moon
comes out now.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The breeze at dawn

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill.
where the two world touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.

------------------------------------------------------
Good wishes,

Diane

Hi Steven ~

Was it this one?

Guest House

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the sham, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

~ Rumi

This particular poem brought me comfort during a time of loss. It would fit the description you gave, as well as their purpose; though there could easily be others.

~ Elizabeth

Hi Diane ~

If you like, I can make you copies of what I have [three tapes ~ one of which is discussion of Rumi, with some reading, but no music; another his poetry read to minimalist, exquisite music; and the third, the Deepak Chopra [and celebrity friends] one. My favourite is the second one. Very pure sounding.

~ Lizzy

I think Leonard Cohen is a reincarnation of Rumi
I have a copy of a radio segment Tapestry on CBC. It is an intereview with Coleman Barks. I have misplaced it. Coleman Barks is someone i would like to meet.
I wish I could remember how I came upon his work, he just seems to have snuck in somehow.
My MI told me he thinks that I sould be doing this. I had a strange reaction after we joined the group. I had a profound feeling of sadness, as if I felt the loss all the people in the room. I could not figure out my sadness until this morning it was just there with no explanation, very strange.
There seems to be a trend of TV shows dealing with death these days. Maybe our culture is learning to find a way to accept, it is definetly necessary to stop avoiding the issue.
Being an army brat and moving every three years I hav felt the pain of lost friends. I know the ones left behind still lived, but they stopped living in my life. I remember screaming at my mother how much I hated her for making us move and I had to leave all my friends, must have been 9yrs old. Poor mom, but it was painful for me. After a month of billeting with a family in Ontario when I was in grade 11......the girl I was with became a sister to me instantly we connected right away. On the way home I went to the bathroom of the plane and bawled. Losing my fiancee the way I did is like he died, our relationship died. I am still in pain over this, not able to accept 100%.
Boy I have alot to learn, the sadness is profound and comes across you like a wave, you cannot stop a wave, best to acknowledge it and ride it the best you can.

I said, 'Thou art harsh, like such a one.'
'Know,' he replied,
'That I am harsh for good, not from rancor and spite.
Whoever enters saying, "This I," I smite him on the brow;
For this is the shrine of Love, o fool! it is not a sheep cote!
Rub thine eyes, and behold the image of the heart.'

Buddhism is a lot of work, the best work because it is the beginning of the best relationship you will ever have. A relationship with yourself, which is often the most challenging relationship of ones life time, but the one that will give you the best rewards.

Hi Tri-me ~

I think Leonard Cohen is a reincarnation of Rumi

I've had this identical thought. If not him, another ancient.

Coleman stresses how Rumi had a sense of humour, and laughs quite a bit in his presentations, though not necessarily his readings.

If you like, I can make you copies.

Your pattern of losses has made life somewhat difficult, yet you somehow strong. I can relate to the "not 100%"-acceptance issue .

~ Lizzy

Oh, thanks Lizzy, I'd love to have a listen to the second one you mention. That's very kind of you! I'll pm you my address.

Yes, death is so denied in our culture, or at least has been, and we don't do ourselves any favours, as we have to deal with it, as well as all the smaller losses in life (which don't always seem small).

Buddhism is a lot of work, the best work because it is the beginning of the best relationship you will ever have. A relationship with yourself, which is often the most challenging relationship of ones life time, but the one that will give you the best rewards.

You wouldn't have to be a Buddhist to get to know yourself, but the brief experience I had sure demonstrated how effective Buddhist practice is at leading towards this end. I won't attempt to describe my attraction to Buddhism and my reservations and personal experiences any further here, but thanks for your thoughts, Tri-Me.

Hmm, not sure I'd compare Rumi and Leonard Cohen. Some of Rumi's lines I can imagine Leonard having written, but many not (I only have the Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks book). Generally, to me, Leonard writes more from a sad perspective, and Rumi more from a joyful one. There are other differences too, but I would be reluctant to try to pinpoint them, as that would be getting into the realms of 'analysis', about which I'm not too hot. Merging the religious with the erotic is one way in which they are similar, and, in a general way of course, having the gift to frame the essence of our human experience into words. Am I agreeing with you or not ?

See you,

Diane

Hi Diane ~

Well, you used the word "essence" that had come to my mind by the end of your third sentence in your large paragraph. For me, they both deal with the 'essences' in life ~ both joyful and sad. I also have that book. When I send you the tape[s ], you'll hear the poem regarding the old woman in the graveyard. I know you'll appreciate it as I do.

Regarding death, our culture shields our children from its realities. I prefer the way many, other cultures handle it. It's still a shock that brings the grief and sadness of loss, but it's understood much better as a natural part of life.

~ Lizzy

The essence is the thing. They are both very passionate their work touches me in that way I love the intensity. Neither of them skirt around what they are trying to say they bring it forth.
From what I understand Rumi's words were spontanious. There may be some parallels to present days to rap artists?? Not the same similar.
There are many referenced to hashish in his work too, I think he may have at times been intoxicated?
Oh yes I did not mean to infer that only Buddhists really know themselves. The form I do Shambhala we do not use mantras of concentrte on objects, we are not stoick (sp) still. We sit in lotus on our gomdens and have a soft focus, some in thight some up and out. When something enters our minds, the brain is always working, we do not hold on to it we just label thinking and let it go. We label thinking to learn not to judge. There are noises all around, we learn to not let it be a distraction. Two years ago we did a weekthun started boxing day ended New Year's Eve. It is a silent retreat (functional talking only) we meditated for 10 hrs each day. During this time all there is is you. Some people do month long datuns some people to three year retreats etc.

I see what happened now. i am at work and if I do not sign in before i post it comes up as guest.