Oh, how they swirl on the surface
of your tea, the dervishes

dancing, whirling, to the tune
of your spoon swirling.

And, if you angle your head
near the rim, just so,

you might hear a poem
aborning in that moment

as your dervishes twirl,
syllables steaming into words,

which you, soul friend,
must be attuned to capture.

Listen to the beloved
warming your ear:

Love pulls you like a river.
There are hundreds of ways

to kneel and kiss the ground. *

•••

*lines from Jalaluddin Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

•••

Whirling dervishes were a religious order founded by Sufi mystic poet Jalaluddin Rumi in the 13th century to whirl and recite devotional prayers. Rumi was said to turn as he spoke poems coming to him, which were then written down by waiting scribes. This was the basis for the Sufi tradition of the Melevi Order, or Whirling Dervishes, which continues to this day.