lost in lost-ness

My life is lost, my world is lost - all lost.

O moon, I've lost the earth, the sky - all lost.

Don't pass the wine, just pour it in my mouth.

I've lost the very way to my own mouth.

#1159: From Rumi's Kolliyaat-e Shams-e Tabrizi

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I felt shock and horror last night as beloved Vesna was evicted from the Big Brother house. I had picked her to win and it felt like my whole world had fallen apart, as if I needed to question my foundation beliefs. How could I get it so wrong? This morning, I'm more cheerful for I realize that, every now and again, a good shock can help clean out the system.

Vale Vesna

In today's quatrain I find Rumi also suffering from an earth-shattering - and sky-shattering - shock. As #1159, this verse is well into his grief period over the loss of Shams, so I suspect that some more recent shock has left him in this mood of being lost. He is left wanting only to drown his sorrows in wine: he asks his moon-muse to pour inspiration into him for he is not even capable of reaching out for it and delivering it into speech.

It's funny how Rumi can take such a distressing mood and turn it into yet another jewel, into yet another occasion for bliss.