While I’ve read a fair amount of poetry, aside from the 13th century Persian mystical poet Rumi, it’s all been western writing. Then the other day on the radio I heard an interview with Reza Aslan about his new anthology Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East and the website Words Without Borders, both of which feature English translations of international poetry.
After I got home (because I seem to only listen to the radio when doing errands in the car!) I spent a happy hour reading Rumi translations (for instance, here) and the poetry on Words Without Borders. Here’s a Rumi poem, translated by Shahram Shiva, that I especially liked:
I said, meet me in the garden.
You know the one–
it is called Smiling Spring.
There are nightingales chirping away,
wine and candle lights,
and companions as soft as
pomegranate blossoms.
You think this all would sound so perfect!
But without you by my side,
what use is the Smiling Spring?
And when you are with me,
what use are pomegranate blossoms?