A Year with Rumi

Written by Coleman Barks
Reviewed by: Reda H. D. Mansour

This 413-page work was written by Coleman Barks, a poet and author who has researched Rumi, a 13th-century poet. Rumi was born into a family of scholars and mystics in Balk, which today is in northern Afghanistan. The book contains one poem for each day of the year. The fact that Rumi lived centuries ago naturally colours the content and subject matter of his poetry.

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Selected Poems and Themes

A Just-Finishing Candle

Rumi tells us that when finishing, a candle is “nothing but a tongue of light.”

Children Running Through

Here the poet reflects, “I used to be shy,” but now “children run through and make faces at me.”

Sometimes I Do

Rumi credits an unnamed person for teaching him to love and to make poems.

There is Something in Us

This religious poem describes Jesus transforming “a drunk into gold” and speaks to the divine worth of each person. Rumi urges, “Never think that you are worthless. God has paid an enormous amount for you, and the gifts keep arriving.”

Backpain

Rumi recounts how Muhammad visited a sick friend and reflects that kindness multiplies. He reminds us that “there are values in pain that are difficult to see without the presence of a guest.”

The Gift of Water

“Every object and being in the universe is a jar overfilled with wisdom and beauty,” he writes, encouraging us to recognize the shining abundance of life.

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The Many Wines

One of Rumi’s more striking poems, which Coleman Barks includes in full:

*God has given us a dark wine so potent
that, drinking it, we leave the two worlds.
God made Majnun love Layla so much
that just her dog would cause confusion in him.

There are thousands of wines that can take over our minds.
Don’t think all ecstasies are the same. Jesus was lost in his love for God.
His donkey was drunk with barley.

Every object, every being,
is a jar of delight.
Be a connoisseur, and taste with caution.
Any wine will get you high.

Judge like a king, and choose the purest,
not the ones adulterated with fear,
or some urgency about “what’s needed.”

Drink the wine that moves you
as a camel moves when it’s being untied
and is just ambling about.*

This poem urges us to savour experiences carefully, seeking the purest and most elevating joys.

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Other Notable Poems

• Two Kinds of Intelligence: Rumi distinguishes between acquired knowledge and innate wisdom, anticipating modern ideas of multiple intelligences.
• Someone Digging in the Ground: He reflects on purpose, love, and the risks of spiritual journeys.
• The One Thing You Must Do: Each person has a unique work to do in this life, and ignoring it is “foolishly ignoring dignity and purpose.”
• The Seed Market: Seeds represent infinite potential, producing “hundreds of rose gardens” or “a whole wilderness.”
• Talking Through the Door (1): A dialogue of longing and devotion, raising questions about love, slavery, and friendship.
• When I Am with You: A short, powerful piece praising the two kinds of insomnia—when with the beloved, and when apart.
• Red Shirt: A nostalgic reflection on a mischievous boy who captivated the poet.
• Dervishes: Rumi urges giving oneself to the ocean of nonexistence, warning against laziness.
• The Guest House: Perhaps one of his most famous poems, likening human emotions to guests who must all be welcomed.

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Reflections on Death and Eternity

• On the Day I Die: Death is not disappearance but transformation into “unimagined beauty.”
• The Death of Saladin: A lament of grief and loss, recognizing the irreplaceable nature of a beloved leader.
• Who Says Words with My Mouth: Rumi questions existence, soul, and divine inspiration, offering one of his most hauntingly introspective works.

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Final Thoughts

Rumi’s poetry spans joy, sorrow, philosophy, religion, and love. Coleman Barks, who has spent decades studying Rumi, notes that his poems carry “a broad range of religious awareness: the meditative silence and no-mind of Zen, the open heart and compassion of Jesus, the stern discipline of Muhammad, the convivial humor of Taoists.”

There is wisdom, compassion, and universality in these works. Rumi is not a poet to be ignored.

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Reviewed by:
Reda H. D. Mansour, Canada