What Was Told, That

What Was Told, That
Jalal al-Din Rumi
translated by Coleman Barks 

What was said to the rose that made it open was said 

to me here in my chest. 

What was told the cypress that made it strong 

and straight, what was 

whispered the jasmine so it is what it is, whatever made 

sugarcane sweet, whatever 

was said to the inhabitants of the town of Chigil in 

Turkestan that makes them 

so handsome, whatever lets the pomegranate flower blush 

like a human face, that is 

being said to me now. I blush. Whatever put eloquence in 

language, that's happening here. 

The great warehouse doors open; I fill with gratitude, 

chewing a piece of sugarcane, 

in love with the one to whom every that belongs!

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Here the poet uses images to help us imagine what he is feeling, although neither he nor we can say exactly "what" it is. In this way the poet helps us reach a feeling inside of us about love that is hard to comprehend. This provides a magical quality to what could otherwise be confusing or obtuse. And in the end, we as the readers not only understand his emotions, but we feel like we understand that same emotion better within ourselves.

While keeping this poem in mind, its techniques and its messages, here are some prompts that you may use to write a poem:

1. What is a situation that you are in, or have been in before? How does that situation make you feel? Is there something in nature that you can imagine having felt that same way? Use nature imagery to try to reach the same feeling.
2. Has someone done something for you or said something to you that has make you feel a specific way? Without getting into the details, use nature imagery to reach that same feeling.
3. Take a line from this poem and use this in your poem (a title, a first line, or other). Write.
4. What else does this poem remind you of or inspire in you? Write.