One Song by Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks)
What is praised is one, so the praise is one too,
many jugs being poured
.
into a huge basin. All religions, all this singing,
one song.
.
The differences are just illusion and vanity. Sunlight
looks slightly different
.
on this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different
on this other one, but
.
it is still one light. We have borrowed these clothes, these
time-and-space personalities,
.
from a light, and when we praise, we pour them back in.
.
Excerpt from The Indian Tree
.
Don’t search for one of the names. Move beyond any attachment
to names. Every war
.
and every conflict between human beings has happened because
of some disagreement about
.
names. It’s such an unnecessary foolishness, because just
beyond the arguing there’s a long
.
table of companionship, set and waiting for us to sit down.
This poem was selected by Lesley W. (Head of Adult Services)
