Rumi - The Purity of Desire

100 POEMS OF

Rumi

DANIEL LADINSKY

WITH NANCY OWEN BARTON

PENGUIN BOOKS

PENGUIN BOOKS

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First published in Penguin Books 2012

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Copyright Daniel Ladinsky, 2012

All rights reserved

The Body is Like Mary appeared in the journal, Lalitamba.

Isnt That Something? appeared in Daniel Ladinskys Love Poems
from God (Penguin Books, 2002).

The afterword, A Note on Divinity appeared in Mr. Ladinskys The Subject
Tonight is Love (Pumpkin House, 1996).

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Jalal al-Din Rumi, Maulana, 12071273.

[Selections. English. 2012]

The purity of desire : 100 poems of Rumi / [edited and translated by]
Daniel Ladinsky : with Nancy Owen Barton.

p. cm.

Translated from Persian.

ISBN :978-1-101-60297-3

I. Ladinsky, Daniel James. II. Barton, Nancy Owen. III. Title.

PK6480. E5L33 2012

891.5511dc23

2012035950

Printed in the United States of America

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Version_2

The body is like Mary, and
each of us has a Jesus inside.

RUMI

To my eyes, lovers touching are
folded wings in a beautiful prayer.

RUMI

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As my eighty-five-year-old, sweet mom recently said to me, You know Danny, it still amazes me to see your name on books. And I replied, It amazes me too, mom. With that in mind, having an acknowledgment page to write can at first be confusing. But here goes: Foremost, great thanks to those mentioned in the Introduction, which of course includes my agent and friend, Nancy Barton.

Thanks to Jeff Wolverton, an old lover of God, who has been a wonderful gardener and caretaker, for about 40 years, at the spiritual center I often visit. Jeff brought a couple of my favorite lines in this book to my attention that I then worked with, expounded upon. He has danced with Rumi a long time; I think Rumi would call Jeffkin.

Elizabeth Heaneys help was very timely, skilled and appreciated. She knows something about real love, and giving it.

Kara Gilligan, Gervaise Christiansen and Joan Body generously gave their finely honed talents to the design and layout of this book. Hugs to each of you.

It may be an odd thing to thank, but I think I shoulda broken heart I have had for several years now from losing the two warm-blooded creatures I was closest to. It is some rare balance between the extremes, I think a work like this requires: on one side, a heart so tender it can weep in a moment from sadness and all the suffering in the world, and on the other sidetheres wild humor and an eye that can seemingly (with just a tiny flex of inner will) behold great splendor. That is where I camp these days, between those poles. I plow a field there. Songs rise. They filled this book, the best I could.

Carolyn Carlson, my editor at Penguin, has stuck by me for seven years now. She has been remarkable, always encouraging. Thanks, thanks, thanks to you, C.