Like a madman, I search in the meadows!
That deer in the meadows, where did he go?
In this poem, the narrator—a woman—details her heartache at realizing that her beloved has left. She spends most of the poem bemoaning the fact that her beloved has left and she has no clue where he has gone. In this particular quotation, she comments on the madman-like quality she has adopted in her attempt to discover where her lover has gone. She then likens the man to a deer in a meadow. This is particularly telling as deer often blend into their surroundings, making them particularly difficult to spot. This quotation highlights how this affair has driven the narrator to the point of madness and how the man truly has disappeared into seemingly thin air.
Whoever claims to have made a pact with Destiny
Reveals himself a liar and a fool;
What is any of us but a straw in a storm?
In this quotation, the narrator of this poem comments on the uncertainty of life. She suggests that anyone who claims to have made a deal with destiny—who claims to have any control over life—is not only a fool for believing such a thing is possible but is also a liar for suggesting others can do the same. The narrator points out that we are all metaphorically a piece of straw in a storm. We have no control over where life takes us, nor how we get there. In this way, this quotation urges us to understand and accept that destiny cannot be bribed nor altered. We are simply at its mercy; we must bow to its will and simply go with the proverbial flow.
Go to the road, and ask any passing traveler —
That soul-stirring companion, where did he go?
In this quotation, we are once again reminded of the narrator’s desperation to find her lost lover. Though it is unclear whether the man—her lover—left willingly or unwillingly, what is clear is that the narrator is desperate to locate him. The narrator admits that she asks anyone she can find—a random passerby—if they have seen her beloved. Though it remains unclear how the lover felt about the narrator, she refers to him as a “soul-stirring companion.” In this way, this quotation perfectly highlights the narrator’s intense and soul-reaching love for the missing man, as well as her desperation to find him—even if it means approaching complete and common strangers.
What is agony of the spirit?
To advance toward death without seizing
hold of the Water of Life.
In this short and clipped poem, the unnamed narrator comments on the agony of life. The narrator—presumably an extension of author Rumi—suggests that the agony of the spirit is to live a life—or die a death—without love. The title of the poem refers to love as the “Water of Life.” When the narrator therefore suggests the agony of the spirit is to live a life without holding the “Water of Life.” In this way, the narrator implies that a life lived with love is one that is fulfilled. A person who lives a life filled with love does not have to fear death, nor do they have to be in agony when it finally approaches. Likewise, one who lives a life without love will face intense agony as death approaches. All of this encapsulates the idea that love is the water of life—without love, one cannot truly live.
