00:30

As The Sky Does In Water | Rumi Poem

by Wood

Rated
4.9
Type
talks
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
52

This poem by Rumi reflects on the silent meeting of spirit and form, where the unseen reveals itself within the seen. Like the sky mirrored in still water, awareness appears when the surface of thought becomes still. Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi, popularly known as "Rumi", is a 13th-century Sufi poet. Today, he is recognised as one of the greatest poets who ever lived, due in part to how his words seem to speak to the Divine. Photo by Kanishk Agarwal. Translation by Coleman Barks.

PoetrySufismSpiritualityAwarenessContemplationNon AttachmentGratitudeGratitude PracticePresence MeditationFormlessness ContemplationSpiritual Elusiveness

Transcript

For the grace of the presence,

Be grateful.

Touch the cloth of the robe,

But do not pull it towards you,

Or,

Like an arrow,

It will leave the bow.

Images.

Presence plays with form,

Fleeing and hiding as the sky does in water.

Now one place,

Now nowhere.

Imagination cannot contain the absolute.

These poems are elusive because the presence is.

I love the rose that is not a rose,

But the second I try to speak it,

Any name for God becomes so-and-so and vanishes.

What you thought to draw lifts off the paper,

As what you love slips from your heart.

Meet your Teacher

WoodApeldoorn, Netherlands

4.9 (7)

Recent Reviews

Mary

February 5, 2026

Wow! Doesn't this poem just perfect describe the indescribable! Thank you 🙏

More from Wood

Loading...

Related Meditations

Loading...

Related Teachers

Loading...
© 2026 Wood. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

How can we help?

Sleep better
Reduce stress or anxiety
Meditation
Spirituality
Something else