BREATH

THE FOLLOWING IS A POEM BY MY TEACHER RUMI;

not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen. Not any religion
Or cultural system.

I am not from the East
Or the west, not out of the ocean or up
from the ground, not natural or ethereal
Not composed of elements at all

"I" do not exist,
am not an entity in this world or the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve
or any origin story.

My place is placeless, a trace of traceless.
Neither body or soul.
I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds
as one and that one call to and know,
First, last, outer, inner, only
THAT BREATH BREATHING HUMAN!