Instead of lamenting the conditions beyond the walls of this old house, I transport my thoughts to an ancient land that exists today only for romantics like me: Persia. Indulge me as I share two of this exotic country’s greatest exports: pomegranates and Rumi.
First, the fruit. One of the earliest cultivated fruits, the pomegranate has been traced back as far as 3,000 B.C. Some scholars even suggest that it was a pomegranate, not an apple, that tempted Eve. In their long history, pomegranates have been linked to health, fertility and rebirth and they have figured prominently in many religions. My late grandmother introduced us to pomegranates when we were children and the fruit, for me, will forever link me to her and both of us to Christmas.
The thirteenth century poet and mystic Rumi (Mohammad Jalal al-Din al-Balkhi al-Rumi), saw every form of human love as a mirror of the divine. Thus, even though Rumi emerged from the Islamic tradition, his message of love seems appropriate to share at Christmas. Here is Rumi’s poem “Like This.”
Like This
If anyone asks you about the huris, show
your face, say: like this!If anyone asks you about the moon, climb up on the roof, say: like this!
If anyone seeks a fairy, let them see your countenance,
If anyone talks about the aroma of musk, untie your hair [and] say: like this!
If anyone asks: "How do the clouds uncover the moon?" untie the front of your robe, knot by knot, say: like this!
If anyone asks: "How did Jesus raise the dead?" kiss me on the lips, say: like this!If anyone asks: What are those killed by love like?" direct him to me, say: like this!
If anyone kindly asks you how tall I am, show him your arched eyebrows, say: like this!
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