Unseen Rain

Description

Quatrains of Rumi

Versions by John Moyne and Coleman Barks

Rumi’s short poems have many tones and effects: some of them are quick, joyful, and whimsical; some are finely faceted abstract statements; some probe the inward space of patience and longing. Moyne and Barks translated these poems using a free-verse style, connecting these poems with great American spiritual poets such as Walt Whitman and Gary Snyder.

“These poems speak like a voice in the middle of the night. They suggest more than they say. We cannot decide whether they speak of sexual love or divine union, or both, and this mystery is part of their power. These are poems to keep by the bed, to read over and over again without attempting to force an understanding of their literal meaning.” — San Francisco Chronicle