St. Simeon Skete, Taylorsville Kentucky USA

With St. Simeon, the God receiver, as our patron, the skete seeks to practice the ideals found in our Rule, The Thousand Day Nazareth. In simplicity and poverty, the skete embraces the struggle of inner life through the practice of the Prayer Rope.

See our website at www.nazarethhouseap.org

Donations should be addressed to: Nazareth House Apostolate, 185 Captains Cove Drive, Taylorsville, Kentucky 40071.

Important Notice: All writings, posts, graphics & photographs in this blog are the copyrighted property of (unless otherwise indicated) Nazareth House Media, a division of Nazareth House Apostolate and cannot be copied, printed or used without written permission from NHA Media, Taylorsville, KY.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

When I die

When I die



When I die
when my coffin is being taken out
you must never think
I am missing this world




don't shed any tears
don't lament
or feel sorry
i'm not falling
into a monster's abyss



when you see my corpse is being carried
don't cry for my leaving
i'm not leaving
i'm arriving at eternal love

when you leave me in the grave
 don't say goodbye
 remember a grave is
 only a curtain
 for the paradise behind


you'll only see me descending
 into a grave
 now watch me rise
 how can there be an end
 when the sun sets
 or the moon goes down



it looks like the end
it seems like a sunset
but in reality it is a dawn
when the grave locks you up
that is when your soul is freed

have you ever seen a seed fallen to earth
not rise with a new life
why should you doubt the rise
of a seed named human

have you ever seen a bucket
 lowered into a well
 coming back empty
 why lament for a soul
 when it can come back
 like Joseph from the well


when for the last time
 you close your mouth
 your words and soul 
will belong to the world
 of no place no time


~RUMI, ghazal number 911, translated May 18, 1992, by Nader Khalili.