Thank you, Rosemerry, for a day with Rumi!

 

Dear Rumi,

Lately I have been spinning—

not in the ecstatic way you spin,

whirling with the fullness of life—

I’ve been swirling through obligation

unable to twirl outside the circle of duty,

unable to stop.

 

I’m dizzy, Rumi.

Not dizzy in the drunk-with-joy sense

but dizzy in a sickening way,

chasing my own thoughts,

trying to remember why I spin,

desperate to find my way out.

 

I’m going to fall, Rumi,

maybe even collapse.

I hope the ground will be gentle,

will hold me until I can stand again

and start spinning in a different direction,

raising my arms this time,

to embrace everything.