The poetry feels like it belongs to all. When Rumi died in 1273, members of all religions came to the funeral. Wherever you stand, his words deepen your connection to the mystery of being alive.

Through Coleman Barks’s translations, playful versions, and respectfully ecstatic confabulations, Rumi is the world’s most popular poet. A Year with Rumi brings together 365 of Coleman’s mystical, elegant, and beautiful translations of Rumi’s poetry, for reading, reflection, and providing touchstones for your own journey.

The Night Ocean

We are the night ocean filled

with glints of light. We are the space

between the fish and the moon,

while we sit here together.

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As Much as a Pen Knows

Do you think that I know what I’m doing?

That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself?

As much as a pen knows what it’s writing,

Or the ball can guess where it’s going next.

Coleman Barks is a renowned poet and the bestselling author of The Essential Rumi, The Soul of Rumi, and Rumi: The Book of Love. He taught English and poetry at the University of Georgia for thirty years, and he now focuses on writing—his lifework is a translation of all 64,000 lines of Rumi’s Mathnawi—readings, and performances.