Light - “Reality and Appearance”
Light embodies perceptible reality. Rumi writes, 'Tis light makes colour visible: at night/Red, greene, and russet vanish from thy sight./So to thee light by darkness is made known.” Light surges perceptibility in the night when darkness is ubiquitous. God designed light to augment the appearance of innumerable objects.
The Unseen - “Gone to the Unseen”
‘The unseen’ is a motif for the ambiguous after-death world. Rumi concludes, “At last you have departed and gone to the Unseen./What marvelous route did you take from this world?” The afterworld is imperceptible for the living. Therefore, a live human being would not discern how the path that leads to the after-world because the route is only utilized by the departed.
Cage - “Gone to the Unseen”
The emblematic cage epitomizes the bodily, temporal life. Rumi observes, “Beating your wings and feathers,/you broke free from this cage./Rising up to the sky/you attained the world of the soul.” For one to embark on the expedition ‘the unseen’ world, he or she must surpass the cage that the corporeal life embodies.
Death - “Our death is our wedding with eternity”
Rumi’s contention in the title implies that mortality results in the intersection of humanity with eternity. According to Rumi, “The death of the carnal soul is a blessing.” Therefore, Rumi’s viewpoint, which applies a Christian ideology, deduces that death does not depict the end of existence; it heralds the forthcoming eternal life based on Biblical elucidations regarding life after physical demise.
Sweet Milk - “This Marriage”
The sweet milk denotes the gratifying efficacy of marriage. The speaker declares, “May these vows and this marriage be blessed.” The sweetness of milk is equivalent to the rewards that come in matrimony such as steady love and children.
Window-shoppers - “These spiritual window-shoppers”
The window-shoppers embody the individuals who are non-committal to spirituality. Rumi explicates, “These spiritual window-shoppers who idly ask, 'How much is that?' Oh, I'm just looking./They handle a hundred items and put them down,/shadows with no capital.” If the window-shoppers were unwavering in the quest for spirituality, they would not have put down the items after holding them. They would have embraced spirituality instead of hesitancy.
