What do you really possess,
and what have you gained?
What pearls have you brought up
from the depth of the sea?
On the day of death,
bodily senses will vanish:
do you have the spiritual light
to accompany your heart?
When dust fills these eyes in the grave,
will your grave shine bright?
– Mathnawi II:939-941
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
Rumi: Daylight
Threshold Books, 1994
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahy? Monastra)
There is this Yahoo! Group that sends out English translation of selected Rumi verses everyday. No spamming, never more than a post, beautiful.
