On the day of death"

On that final day
When my casket moves along
Do not think my soul
will stay in this world.

Do not weep for me, crying, Tragedy, tragedy.
You will only fall into the snares of delusion –
Now that's a tragedy!

When you see my lifeless body go by
Do not cry out, Gone, gone.
It is my moment of union.
It is when I come upon
the eternal embrace of my Beloved.

As I am lowered into the ground
Do not say, Farewell, farewell.
For the grave is but a veil
covering the splendor of Paradise.

Having seen the fall
Consider the rise.
What harm ever came to the setting Sun or Moon?

What appears to you as a setting
is for me a rising.
What appears to you as a prison
is for my soul an endless garden.

Every seed that enters the earth will grow.
Should it be any different with a human seed?
Every bucket that is lowered into a well comes up full.
Should I complain when instead of water
I pull up Joseph himself?

Do not look for your words here,
look for them over there.
Sing to me in the silence of your heart
and I will rise up
to hear your triumphant song.

-- Jonathan Star
"Rumi - In the Arms of the Beloved"
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, New York 1997