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Birdsong
Fifty-Three Short Poems
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1273
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About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,170 books15.7k followersSufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 28, 2012
Although my sister and her partner (who I consider intelligent readers of poetry) have enjoyed Rumi for years, I have avoided him, probably because he has become so popular he seems like a fad. And though what I say about my sister and her partner is true, they are also seekers of spiritual wisdom in ways that I am not and I associated Rumi with nuggets of spiritual wisdom more than poetry--without actually reading any of his work.
Ok, so there is my initial statement of prejudice. I also find I'm going to have to separate my experience of the poems in this book with the method by which they were written.
Response to poems:
I enjoyed many of them. Fifty are presented. Yes, some are more wisdom nugget than poem but many are simply poems, responses to the world (a bit too often about love), wisdom or not.
Sometimes I call you wine, or cup,
Sunlight ricocheting off those,
or faintly immersed in silver.
I call you trap and bait,
and the game I'm after, all
so as not to say your name.
Juxtaposition of opposites and questioning of opposites is common in his poetry.
One who does what the Friend wants done
will never need a friend.
There's bankruptcy that's pure gain.
The moon stays bright with it
doesn't avoid the night.
A rose's rarest essence
lives in the thorn.
So some of them are Koan-like, some of them simply seem like poems, and some are more explicit nuggets of wisdom. The more I read, the more I was reminded of Dickinson with her twists within short poems and her humor, or Cavafy, perhaps because of the emphasis on love, and even Whitman because of the persistent message to embrace life. And of Guiseppi Ungaretti's very brief poem:
I hear a dove
from other floods
But . . .
Skepticism about the way they were written:
At the end of the introduction, there's a little note that these are reworkings of the translations of another person. And then I read a bit more thanks to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_...). I'm going to be a poor scholar and assume what is written there is essentially correct.
So it seems to me that Barks is an interpreter of translations rather than a translator. So when I'm reminded of Dickinson, is that because of Barks' American processing of Rumi? Or Barks' love of Dickinson? Because the example of direct translation is not at all brief, is more Whitmanesque in style though not at all Whitmanesque in subject matter and its preference for vagueness. So is the koan-like quality a product of Barks and his assumptions about what Eastern and/or religious poetry should be like, not Rumi?
It raises a lot of questions. I feel in the end that I don't know much about the poetry of Rumi, but I like Barks' poetry that was inspired by Rumi (but processed with such a heavy load of American preferences and ways of thinking that it's likely something entirely different from Rumi).
The wiki entry indicates that Barks received an honorary doctorate from the U. of Tehran. I'm not even sure what to think of that. Does that mean that they feel his poetry is an accurate representation of Rumi--or sufi thought--or are they simply honoring him for making one of their own more popular in the English-speaking world?
I'll be curious to hear if anyone else has a more informed perspective on this.
Ok, so there is my initial statement of prejudice. I also find I'm going to have to separate my experience of the poems in this book with the method by which they were written.
Response to poems:
I enjoyed many of them. Fifty are presented. Yes, some are more wisdom nugget than poem but many are simply poems, responses to the world (a bit too often about love), wisdom or not.
Sometimes I call you wine, or cup,
Sunlight ricocheting off those,
or faintly immersed in silver.
I call you trap and bait,
and the game I'm after, all
so as not to say your name.
Juxtaposition of opposites and questioning of opposites is common in his poetry.
One who does what the Friend wants done
will never need a friend.
There's bankruptcy that's pure gain.
The moon stays bright with it
doesn't avoid the night.
A rose's rarest essence
lives in the thorn.
So some of them are Koan-like, some of them simply seem like poems, and some are more explicit nuggets of wisdom. The more I read, the more I was reminded of Dickinson with her twists within short poems and her humor, or Cavafy, perhaps because of the emphasis on love, and even Whitman because of the persistent message to embrace life. And of Guiseppi Ungaretti's very brief poem:
I hear a dove
from other floods
But . . .
Skepticism about the way they were written:
At the end of the introduction, there's a little note that these are reworkings of the translations of another person. And then I read a bit more thanks to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_...). I'm going to be a poor scholar and assume what is written there is essentially correct.
So it seems to me that Barks is an interpreter of translations rather than a translator. So when I'm reminded of Dickinson, is that because of Barks' American processing of Rumi? Or Barks' love of Dickinson? Because the example of direct translation is not at all brief, is more Whitmanesque in style though not at all Whitmanesque in subject matter and its preference for vagueness. So is the koan-like quality a product of Barks and his assumptions about what Eastern and/or religious poetry should be like, not Rumi?
It raises a lot of questions. I feel in the end that I don't know much about the poetry of Rumi, but I like Barks' poetry that was inspired by Rumi (but processed with such a heavy load of American preferences and ways of thinking that it's likely something entirely different from Rumi).
The wiki entry indicates that Barks received an honorary doctorate from the U. of Tehran. I'm not even sure what to think of that. Does that mean that they feel his poetry is an accurate representation of Rumi--or sufi thought--or are they simply honoring him for making one of their own more popular in the English-speaking world?
I'll be curious to hear if anyone else has a more informed perspective on this.
March 8, 2021
A beautiful collection of Rumi's work. Some of my favorites are included.
October 4, 2007
Rumi adalah penuh makna dimana kita dapat mempelajari hakikinya kehidupan. "Pelajarilah kata-kata bijak yang diucapkan oleh orang-orang bijak dan terapkanlah dalam kehidupanmu sendiri. Hidupkanlah kata-kata itu – tetapi jangan kamu pamerkan"
Orang bijak adalah dia yang mencintai dan mengagungkan Tuhan. Kebaikan manusia terletak pada pangetahuannya dan perbuatannya, bukan pada warna kulitnya, agamanya, rasnya atau keturunannya. Karena itu ingatlah, temanku, putra padang pasir yang memiliki pengetahuan adalah lebih merupakan bagian dari kemulian bagi sebuah negeri daripada pewaris tahta, jika ia menjadi dungu. Pengetahuan adalah kebenaran sejati dari kebangsawananmu, tidak peduli siapa ayahmu dan apa warna kulitmu.
Pengetahuan adalah satu-satunya tiran kekayaan yang tidak bisa dirampas. Hanya kematian yang bisa memadamkan lampu pengetahuan yang ada dalam dirimu. Kekayaan sejati dari sebuah negeri tidak terletak ada emas dan perak tetapi dalam pengetahuannya, kearifannya, dan tidak akan pernah menghianatimu. Karena pengetahuan adalah mahkotamu. Dan pemahaman adalah pegawaimu; ketika mereka bersamamu, kamu tidak dapat memiliki harta yang lebih berharga selain mereka.
Tuhan telah menganugrahkan untukmu intelegensi dan pengetahuan. Janganlah kamu padamkan kasih sayang-Nya dan jangan biarkan lilin kearifan mati dalam kegelapan napsu dan kesalahan. Karena seseorang yang bijak mendekati manusia dengan obornya untuk mengurangi jalan umat manusia.
Sedikit pengetahuan yang dilaksanakan jauh lebih berharga daripada banyak pengetahuan tapi tidak digunakan.
Jika pengetahuanmu tidak mengajarimu nilai segala sesuatu, dan tidak membebaskanmu dari belenggu materi maka kamu tidak akan pernah mendekati singgasana kebenaran.
Jika pengetahuanmu tidak mengajarimu untuk menghilangkan kelemahan dan penderitaan manusia dan tidak membimbing para pengikutmu di atas jalan yang benar, kamu sungguh merupakan seorang yang tidak berharga dan akan tetap demikian hingga Hari Kiamat.
Pelajarilah kata-kata bijak yang diucapkan oleh orang-orang bijak dan terapkalah dalam kehidupanmu sendiri. Hidupkalah kata-kata itu – tetapi jangan kamu pamerkan perbuatan-perbuatan itu dengan menceritakannya karena dia yang mengulangi apa yang tidak ia pahami adalah tidak lebih baik dari seekor kedelai yang ditimbun buku-buku.
Orang bijak adalah dia yang mencintai dan mengagungkan Tuhan. Kebaikan manusia terletak pada pangetahuannya dan perbuatannya, bukan pada warna kulitnya, agamanya, rasnya atau keturunannya. Karena itu ingatlah, temanku, putra padang pasir yang memiliki pengetahuan adalah lebih merupakan bagian dari kemulian bagi sebuah negeri daripada pewaris tahta, jika ia menjadi dungu. Pengetahuan adalah kebenaran sejati dari kebangsawananmu, tidak peduli siapa ayahmu dan apa warna kulitmu.
Pengetahuan adalah satu-satunya tiran kekayaan yang tidak bisa dirampas. Hanya kematian yang bisa memadamkan lampu pengetahuan yang ada dalam dirimu. Kekayaan sejati dari sebuah negeri tidak terletak ada emas dan perak tetapi dalam pengetahuannya, kearifannya, dan tidak akan pernah menghianatimu. Karena pengetahuan adalah mahkotamu. Dan pemahaman adalah pegawaimu; ketika mereka bersamamu, kamu tidak dapat memiliki harta yang lebih berharga selain mereka.
Tuhan telah menganugrahkan untukmu intelegensi dan pengetahuan. Janganlah kamu padamkan kasih sayang-Nya dan jangan biarkan lilin kearifan mati dalam kegelapan napsu dan kesalahan. Karena seseorang yang bijak mendekati manusia dengan obornya untuk mengurangi jalan umat manusia.
Sedikit pengetahuan yang dilaksanakan jauh lebih berharga daripada banyak pengetahuan tapi tidak digunakan.
Jika pengetahuanmu tidak mengajarimu nilai segala sesuatu, dan tidak membebaskanmu dari belenggu materi maka kamu tidak akan pernah mendekati singgasana kebenaran.
Jika pengetahuanmu tidak mengajarimu untuk menghilangkan kelemahan dan penderitaan manusia dan tidak membimbing para pengikutmu di atas jalan yang benar, kamu sungguh merupakan seorang yang tidak berharga dan akan tetap demikian hingga Hari Kiamat.
Pelajarilah kata-kata bijak yang diucapkan oleh orang-orang bijak dan terapkalah dalam kehidupanmu sendiri. Hidupkalah kata-kata itu – tetapi jangan kamu pamerkan perbuatan-perbuatan itu dengan menceritakannya karena dia yang mengulangi apa yang tidak ia pahami adalah tidak lebih baik dari seekor kedelai yang ditimbun buku-buku.
September 22, 2013
I know that my not liking the book as much as most people like Rumi's poetry reflects my own inability to truly appreciate poetry. I plan to read it again at some point, when I feel that I understand poetry better insha Allah!
June 26, 2007
Versi Indonya judulnya : Musyawarah Burung ...bagus banget...karyanya Rumi mendunia..yang paling terkenal ya Masnawinya..sedang Musyawarah Burung,sastra banget.
December 2, 2008
This book was pretty much my introduction to Rumi's poetry. I LOVE Rumi now. He is one of my favorite poets. The translations are simple, yet beautiful.
January 30, 2009
best book of poetry in the world
March 23, 2009
Beautiful sensuous, gorgeous... One of the most erotic and spiritual books I have ever read. Union between a man and a woman is the highest expression of praise to God! We honor Him with out bodies.
June 25, 2009
i cannot say enough of Rumi.
a must read...especially if you're a lover.
this is actually my most recent aqusition of his work.
a must read...especially if you're a lover.
this is actually my most recent aqusition of his work.
July 8, 2009
The most amazing book of poetry I have ever read.
Read
April 25, 201040th Birthday gift from Jennifer Vail
March 21, 2012
I am amazed these things were created.
March 14, 2013
My first book of Rumi. Thank you Valerie.
October 23, 2016
My favorite collection. And Colemam Barks is my favorite translator of Rumi poems.
December 16, 2013
How can one review these masterpieces of spiritual poetry that stood the test of time for 7 centuries? "SUPERB" is all I can say...
March 24, 2009
SUch a dreamboat. It is like meditating with my eyeballs.
May 18, 2017
I enjoyed this, but can find it hard to read Rumi at times. His poetry comes across as ecstatic, or perhaps better, about ecstasy, but I often struggle to get the feeling or understand the poems. This book contains many short poems, barely longer than haiku, so the difficulty is not length or language, it is understanding.
September 9, 2025
"Last night things flowed between us that cannot now be said or written.
Only as I'm being carried out and down the road,
as the folds of my shroud open in the wind,
will anyone be able to read, as on the petal-pages of a turning bud
what passed through us last night."
Only as I'm being carried out and down the road,
as the folds of my shroud open in the wind,
will anyone be able to read, as on the petal-pages of a turning bud
what passed through us last night."
August 19, 2019
Small but potently beautiful, both the book and each poem within it. My favorite Rumi collection so far...
December 1, 2021
Barks' translation is modern and lyric. Rumi's message is timeless.
July 1, 2025
Lovely poetry, good imagery.
February 11, 2019
I enjoyed this read. The poems struck me as either “wow, I feel this one” to “I wonder how high I’d have to be to feel this one?” Here was my favorite:
Rain fell on one man,
he ran into his house.
But the swan spread its wings and said,
“Pour more on me of that power
I was fashioned from.”
Rain fell on one man,
he ran into his house.
But the swan spread its wings and said,
“Pour more on me of that power
I was fashioned from.”
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews