Reading Rumi In China

A little bit of background - I currently live in China, hence the title, and some of the images are from my time here.

 

I am not a soft man

 

Sitting in manicured gardens

And surrounding concrete paths

There are little white flowers

If only they could be my tongue

 

Do you see the child?

He calls from the other room

But if you go there

You will not find him

 

We worship like Christmas Eve revelers

Holding electric bulbed candles

Proudly towards some distant heaven

With safety concerns at heart

 

How can you know a liar?

They deny themselves

And only tell you who they are

When they are hiding

 

We’ll whisper like lovers

In a room full of people

Trapped in idle conversation

And not seeking escape

 

Mountains rise from nothing

Tombs of unknown colossals

Long forgotten conquerors

Once looked upon with terror and awe

 

We’ll return one day

Like Titans to the land we shaped

To be stridden upon

And forgotten by working hands

 

There are marbled headstones

Sprent through the orchard

Like thrown birdseed

In green park grass

 

Where's the Magic?

Without, I still have stories to tell