Gnats inside the wind
Some gnats came from the grass to speak with Solomon.
"O Solomon, you are the champion of the oppressed.
You give justice to the little guys, and they don't get
any littler than us! We are tiny metaphors
for frailty. Can you defend us?"
"Who has mistreated you?"
"Our complaint is against the wind."
"Well," says Solomon, "you have pretty voices,
you gnats, but remember, a judge cannot listen
to just one side. I must hear both litigants."
"Of course," agree the gnats.
"Summon the East Wind!" calls out Solomon,
and the wind arrives almost immediately.
What happened to the gnat plaintiffs? Gone.
Such is the way of every seeker who comes to complain
at the High Court. When the presence of God arrives,
where are the seekers? First there's dying,
then union, like gnats inside the wind.
Mathnawi III: 4624 - 59
Poetic version by Coleman Barks
"The Essential Rumi"
HarperSanFrancisco, 1995
Some gnats came from the grass to speak with Solomon.
"O Solomon, you are the champion of the oppressed.
You give justice to the little guys, and they don't get
any littler than us! We are tiny metaphors
for frailty. Can you defend us?"
"Who has mistreated you?"
"Our complaint is against the wind."
"Well," says Solomon, "you have pretty voices,
you gnats, but remember, a judge cannot listen
to just one side. I must hear both litigants."
"Of course," agree the gnats.
"Summon the East Wind!" calls out Solomon,
and the wind arrives almost immediately.
What happened to the gnat plaintiffs? Gone.
Such is the way of every seeker who comes to complain
at the High Court. When the presence of God arrives,
where are the seekers? First there's dying,
then union, like gnats inside the wind.
Mathnawi III: 4624 - 59
Poetic version by Coleman Barks
"The Essential Rumi"
HarperSanFrancisco, 1995
