A candle is made to become entirely flame.
In that annihilating moment
it has no shadow.
It is nothing but a tongue of light
describing a refuge.
Look at this
just-finishing candle stub
as someone who is finally safe
from virtue and vice,
the pride and the shame
we claim from those.
(A Just-Finishing Candle by Jalaluddin Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks, The Essential Rumi)
Liked this poem? Check out these other delightful poems by Rumi, the world’s greatest spiritual poet.
