By Fez Meghani

I wish I was the pen in Rumi’s hands
To recognize his thirst; to feel his longing
To comprehend his hunger; to sense his yearning
To experience the flow of his blood
Through the ink in my body
So I could understand how the self
Could be nobody and everybody
I wish I was the pen in Rumi’s hands 

I wish I was the pen in Rumi’s hands
To listen to his song; to witness him dance
To suffer his immense pain; to live his romance
To experience the flow of his tears
Through the ink in my body
So I could understand how the self
Could be nobody and everybody
I wish I was the pen in Rumi’s hands

I wish I was the pen in Rumi’s hands
To see his beloved, to meet his bright Shams
To touch the dust of Tabriz, to move to his drums
To experience the flow of his love
Through the ink in my body
So I could understand how the self
Could be nobody and everybody
I wish I was the pen in Rumi’s hands

I wish I was the pen in Rumi’s hands
To sense what he sensed; to go where he went
To face what he always saw; to know what he meant
To experience the flow of his God
Through the ink in my body
So I could understand how the self
Is nobody and yet everybody
I wish I was the pen in Rumi’s hands

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Author’s Note: The  reference Shams in the poem is to Shams Tabrizi who is widely believed to have been an Ismaili Dai. His relationship with Rumi is a symbolic manifestation of the sacred relationship between the guide and the guided.