The HyperTexts
Rumi: Modern English Translations by Michael R. Burch
Rumi was a Persian poet who also wrote in Turkish, Arabic and Greek.
modern English translations by Michael R. Burch
If you like my translations you are welcome to share
them for noncommercial purposes, but please be sure to credit the original poet
and translator. You can do this easily by copying the credits along
with the poem.
I choose to love you in silence
by Rumi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I choose to love you in silence
where there is no rejection;
to possess you in loneliness
where you are mine alone;
to adore you from a distance
which diminishes pain;
to kiss you in the wind
stealthier than my lips;
to embrace you in my dreams
where you are limitless ...
Songbird/Birdsong
by Rumi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Birdsong relieves
my deepest griefs:
now I'm just as ecstatic as they,
but with nothing to say!
Please universe,
rehearse
your poetry
through me!
The Field
by Rumi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Far beyond sermons of right and wrong there's a sunlit field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lazes in such lush grass
the world is too full for discussion.
Beyond
by Rumi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Don’t demand union:
there’s a closer closeness, beyond.
The instant love descends to rest in me,
many beings become One.
In a single grain of wheat ten thousand sheaves germinate.
Within the needle’s eye innumerable stars radiate.
Two Insomnias (I)
by Rumi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
When I’m with you, we’re up all night.
When we part, I’m unable to sleep.
I’m grateful for both insomnias
and their inspiration.
Two Insomnias (II)
by Rumi
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
When I’m with you, we’re up all night.
When we part, I’m unable to sleep.
I’m grateful for both insomnias
and the difference maker.
Untitled
Raise your words, not their volume.
Rain grows flowers, not thunder.
—Rumi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Your heart’s candle is ready to be kindled.
Your soul’s void is ready to be filled.
You can feel it, can’t you?
—Rumi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
This is love: to fly toward a mysterious sky,
to cause ten thousand veils to fall.
First, to stop clinging to life,
then to step out without feet ...
—Rumi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I am not this hair,
nor this thin shell of skin;
I am the Soul that abides within.
—Rumi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Let yourself be guided by the strange magnetism of what you really love:
It will not lead you astray.
The lion is most majestic when stalking prey.
—Rumi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Forget security!
Live by the perilous sea.
Destroy your reputation, however glorious.
Become notorious.
—Rumi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I was so drunk my lips got lost requesting a kiss.—Rumi, loose
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The following are links to other translations by Michael R. Burch:
Jaun Elia
Mirza Ghalib
Gulzar
Ahmad Faraz
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Allama Iqbal
Rahat Indori
Nasir Kazmi
Amir Khusrow
Rabindranath Tagore
The Love Song of Shu-Sin: The Earth's Oldest Love Poem?
Ancient Greek Epigrams and Epitaphs
Meleager
Sappho
Basho
Oriental Masters/Haiku
Ono no Komachi
The Seafarer
Wulf and Eadwacer
Sweet Rose of Virtue
How Long the Night
Caedmon's Hymn
Anglo-Saxon Riddles and Kennings
Bede's Death Song
The Wife's Lament
Deor's Lament
Lament for the Makaris
Tegner's Drapa
Alexander Pushkin's tender, touching poem "I Love You" has been translated into English by Michael R. Burch.
Whoso List to Hunt
Miklós Radnóti
Rainer Maria Rilke
Marina Tsvetaeva
Renée Vivien
Veronica Franco
Bertolt Brecht
Ber Horvitz
Paul Celan
Primo Levi
Sandor Marai
Vera Pavlova
Wladyslaw Szlengel
Saul Tchernichovsky
Robert Burns: Original Poems and Translations
The Seventh Romantic: Robert Burns
Free Love Poems by Michael R. Burch
Doggerel by Michael R. Burch
Related pages:
Mirza Ghalib,
Ahmad Faraz,
Allama Iqbāl,
Faiz Ahmed Faiz,
Whoso List to Hunt,
The Most Beautiful Sonnets in the English Language,
The Most Beautiful Lines in the English Language,
The Best Anglo-Saxon Riddles and Kennings,
Ancient Greek Epigrams and Epitaphs,
The Best Poems Ever Written,
The Best Love Poems,
The Best Erotic Poems,
The Best Love Songs Ever,
The Best Urdu Love Poetry,
The Best Poetry Translations,
The Best Poems for Kids,
The Best Nonsense Verse,
The Best Rondels and Roundels,
The Best American Poetry,
Caedmon's Hymn Modern English Translation,
The Seafarer,
Free Love Poems by Michael R. Burch,
Doggerel by Michael R. Burch,
The "ur" poems of Michael R.
Burch
The HyperTexts