A collection of never-before-translated poems by the widely beloved medieval Persian poet Rumi.
Rumi (1207-1273) was trained in Sufism--a mystic tradition within Islam--and founded the Sufi order known to us as the Whirling Dervishes, who use dance and music as part of their spiritual devotion. Rumi's poetry has long been popular with contemporary Western audiences because of the way it combines the sacred and the sensual, describing divine love in rapturously human terms.
However, a number of Rumi's English translators over the past century were not speakers of Persian and they based their sometimes very free interpretations on earlier translations. With Western audiences in mind, translators also tended to tone down or leave out elements of Persian culture and of Islam in Rumi's work, and hundreds of the prolific poet's works were never made available to English speakers at all. In this new translation -- composed almost entirely of untranslated gems from Rumi's vast ouevre -- Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz aim to achieve greater fidelity to the originals while still allowing Rumi's lyric exuberance to shine.

Foreword by Brad Gooch
Where is the grace I saw in your face all night? 
All flowers seek refuge in this meadow 
Today the line between a stranger and me, I do not know 
I have lost myself but am longing to lose myself more 
No interpreter for my fire 
When your love inflamed my heart
Out of love for you, every strand of my hair turned into lines of poetry
Rise up, rise up, I’m an ocean of poetry
Come back! Out of love for you, I turned into a madman
Sing with love, of the pain of loss, speak
My heart is a pen held in the beloved’s hand 
Oh voice of the rabab, where do you come from?
Your speech made me silent 
Each moment a vision of him stirs my heart 
Once again my heart is catching fire
My face is a hundred times brighter when I see your face
One night, wishing to say hello, I knocked on the door of the heart
The beloved shines like the sun
Who says the eternal one is dead? 
O Sunshine, fill the house once again with light 
Since I am a servant of the sun, I speak of the sun
Sun, riding atop the sky 
I learned about love from your perfection 
You were silent and I made you a storyteller 
Being lost in being lost is my faith 
Lovers carry another world within
Last night I was aching with love for Shams al-Din
The rays of his sunlight are spreading farther 
You found the hidden king, he wrote 
The beloved came to comfort and console me, secretly 
I have not come to the alley of your love to go away 
Free from the world of water and clay, step into my clay 
To see your face in the early morning is my life 
I saw my beauty in your beauty 
I awoke at midnight but couldn’t find my heart 
Your eyes intensely beautiful, your face a rose 
Where did the handsome beloved go?
Longing for you, my heart feels more pain every day
You accept me, but rejection is my fear
You won’t even look at me with a single glance 
Young man, what if you fell in love like me?
I try to sit and learn but my anxious heart will never be at peace
Once again you are unkind. Remember 
I wish to devote my life to him but I won’t tell you his name
I cure my pain with suffering
I swear to God, I’m not running from the pain of your love 
Even if I lose my sight and mind and life, don’t go 
My friend, all alone, without a friend, don’t leave me
Since you went away, I am weeping, as you know 
I said to the physician, ‘‘Please find a cure.’’ 
For Majnun’s health
The physician for incurable pain, where is he? 
The tulips bloom in dry soil when they see your face
One day as I was passing by the tavern 
Without a cup, without wine, we are happy 
Love lured me into the alley of the tavern 
What better cure than madness? 
When hung over, with a headache, longing for love 
When day is done, join the wine drinkers, all night 
Send me your soul’s wine as a token of your love 
Since you are drunk with me, over a hangover, why worry? 
Who am I?What am I thinking? Serve the wine! 
He makes my soul drunk without wine.Where is he? 
Why is night-blind sorrow wrapping about me?
When I fall into the chaos of night 
Tonight sleep ran from my eyes and mind 
If you can’t find me, ask the dark night 
Sleep follows after you to take away logic and intellect 
Moon, on such a night be moonlike. Don’t sleep! 
Last night a ravishing moon came to me 
Water washed away all my poems and songs 
The silver-bodied moon poked his head through the sky 
The flame of moonlight moves with grace
You are a moon that in the sky cannot be held 
O Moon, any night you shine, I throw myself at your feet 
If the moon that shines in the night veils himself 
The sky has never seen such a moon, not even in its dreams 
O you, who rose from my soul, where is your house?
From the fire of love, cold grows warm
I pulled you out of one fire 
Lovers are aflame within a hidden fire
Only look for warmth from the burning fire inside you 
My turban, my robe, and my head, all three together 
Sorrow turned the heart into a scholar 
Even if you’re not a scholar, study with me 
Within love is the alchemy of sunrise 
Love can’t be found in science or knowledge, books or paper 
As lover nears lover, their chains break apart
If you’re not in love, you’re allowed, sleep on 
Sit with lovers and always seek love 
I swear by love even if love is full of baits and traps
Why should a lover fear shame or disgrace? 
If there’s no trace of love in his heart 
Take these breadcrumbs but my soul will never be broken 
Tomorrow I visit the shop of the tailor of lovers
Didn’t I tell you last night, ‘‘Your beautiful face is beyond compare’’ 
I tested everyone but didn’t find anyone sweeter than you 
In all of love has there ever been such a lover as you? 
Love, for the longest time, you have been my only friend 
Musician, strum the strings of the rabab of my heart
My heart pulled me by my robe to the alley of my friend 
Lift up your head, my friend. Behold my pale face 
My heart longs for the cries of a clarion trumpet 
Looking for you, I return 
Jump up! The soul of whirling is rising to its feet 
In harmony with your friend, you will never be alone 
Everyone is dancing, and, again, the day begins 
Wake up, dance for joy. Press yourself against me 
Come, come, soul of the soul of the soul of whirling 
Last night, without you, was dark and hopeless 
I’m your friend, I’m your friend, the friend of your sorrow 
How can my soul find peace, my friend? With a touch! 
Whirling brings peace to our souls
I am a lover of love, not like every Muslim
At evening prayer when the sun begins to set
You, who have gone on hajj.Where are you? 
Congratulations! Here comes the month of fasting! 
Today I saw your beauty, blessings upon you
That angelic face is the zenith of both worlds
Don’t let your heart turn, the heart of your beloved knows
Last night I dreamed I was poor 
I was a trusted friend of the pilgrims on the road 
The scent of the musk of Khotan comes to me 
Simorgh takes flight from Mount Qaf again
I’m in love and crazed and driven mad by Damascus 
Sometimes you rip my veil, sometimes you sew 
On the path of unity, worship or sin 
The scent of God comes from every direction
Your glow through the window is our summer
I cry so many cries, my face so pale 
Once again my cunning lover found me
What tent did you pitch above the world of eternity? 
Without you, I am banished from my life
The day my soul travels to the heavens
If I die, carry me away 
When I die and my coffin is carried out
If wheat grows from my soil 
What will I do if death comes to take me away? 
When you died, your eyes gazed into the world of the spirit 
In the book of my life only one page remains 
In the clean, pure sea, I dissolved like salt
From a lovely thought, my spirit comes alive 
Open your eyes and look. From the body, souls are escaping
From my heart arose the army of the soul 
A moon appeared in the dawn sky 
Look into the face of the beloved until his hues come alive 
Sir, don’t you see this Judgment Day?
Each day, full of joy, seek a new place to live 
You’re at peace when you don’t need more or less 
Finally you broke away and made your way to the unseen 
Caged bird, don’t fly with the bird of paradise! 
This happy morning kissed me three times 
Fortune made me smile, at last 
God gave me wine and gave you vinegar
Whatever you hide from this king, he knows 
Because of you, I burn with sorrow, O God 
I am a madman and I give birth to madmen
Don’t think! Don’t think! 
Yesterday I went to him full of dismay 
Traveling from this world, you went away
Sometimes, in my childhood, I was a teacher 
Acknowledgments

Rumi; Edited and Translated by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz