Name _______________ World Literature

Carol McKee Marque © 2015

Poetry Excerpts by Rumi

Below are short excerpts from poems by Rumi. Read each one and follow the directions in the column next to it.

In each space below, answer any questions and write about what you think the meaning of each poem excerpt is. Also, identify imagery (which kind), metaphor, personification, paradox, etc.

There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life. There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine. O traveler, if you are in search of That Don't look outside, look inside yourself and seek That.

Why is the word “that” capitalized? What do you think “That” is?

I see so deeply within myself. Not needing my eyes, I can see everything clearly. Why would I want to bother my eyes again

Now that I see the world through His eyes?

You personify God's message. You reflect the King's face. There is nothing in the universe that you are not Everything you want, look for it within yourself-- you are that.

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 worlds touch. The door is wide and open. Don't go back to sleep.

Any soul that drank the nectar of your passion was lifted. From that water of life he is in a state of elation. Death came, smelled me, and sensed your fragrance instead. From then on, death lost all hope of me.

Any lifetime that is spent without seeing the Master Is either death in disguise or a deep sleep. The water that pollutes you is poison; The poison that purifies you is water.

Identify the paradox in this stanza.

Name _______________ World Literature

Carol McKee Marque © 2015

This aloneness is worth more than a thousand lives. This freedom is worth more than all the lands on earth. To be one with the truth for just a moment, Is worth more than the world and life itself.