Carpe Diem #1390 The Flute Weeps

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai. This part of the month we are reading poems written by Rumi, the Mystical Poet, for our inspiration. Today I have a short post for you, because I am on the nightshift. So I will give only the poem by Rumi for your inspiration. It's another beauty and in a way it sounds like one of the quatrains by Omar Khayyam especially the part on wine (at the end of the poem).

Here is "The Flute Weeps" by Rumi (title extracted from the first line):

The Flute Weeps:

the flute weeps
to the pacing drum

the drunken camel
rises from its knees
and tugs at the rope of reason

the bird flutters
in the heart’s cage
putting out his head
on this side and that

the flood fills
the ancient riverbed
and once again
the riverbanks are green

Falcon

the falcon hears
the royal drum
and circles seeking
the wrist of the king 

the musk deer
smells the lion
and her haunches are trembling

the madmen have seen
the moon in the window;
they are running to the roof
with ladders

somewhere tonight
a dervish cries 

“it was my soul
in the wine!
it was my soul!”

© Rumi (Tr. Daniel Liebert)

A real beauty I would say. I hope it will inspire you to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 22nd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, a new weekend-meditation, later on. For now .... have fun!