Saturday, June 2, 2012

Inside a country dialect

A human being 
is like the rod Moses held
or the words that Jesus said.

The outer is just a piece of wood,
or mouth-sounds
of a country dialect,
whose inner parts 
can divide the green ocean
and make the dead
sit up and smile.

You see the far-off tents
of an encampment.
You go closer.

There is a dust-shape,
someone walking near.
Inside that, a man,
bright eyes 
and the strength of his presence.

When Moses returns from the wilderness
where he has gone alone,
Mount Sinai begins to dance.

Rumi, from Coleman Barks' A Year with Rumi

1 comment:

Maureen said...

Intriguing image (my first impression of it was as an abstraction of some high mountain like Everest, deep crevasse surrounding it). It merits seeing enlarged and up close. The touches of red come clearer. What is that in the lower right?