' The Lover of this World '...

The lover of this world is like someone in love
with a wall illuminated by sunrays;

he doesn't
realise that the radiance and the splendor do
not come from the wall but from the sun;

he gives
his heart to the wall and when at sunset the rays
of sun disappear, he is in despair.


- Rumi

Muriel Maufroy
"Breathing Truth - Quotations from Jalaluddin Rumi"
Sanyar Press - London, 1997