Sufi poet Rumi is 800 years old!

Sign and Sight mentions it:

" Islamic scholar Stefan Weidner commemorates the 800th birthday of mystic poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, who once more has a wide circle of readers. "Founder of the Mevlevi Order in the Turkish city of Konya, home of the famous whirling dervishes, he is still honoured like a saint in his home town. Even in unadorned, rough translations, the vivid language of his poems intoxicates readers. The Persian originals, for their part, are pure music." Weidner goes on to admonish German publishing houses focused on the German classics, stressing that there has not yet been a respectable German edition of the poet's works."

Close the Language-Door / Jelaluddin Rumi

There is some kiss we want
with our whole lives,
the touch of
Spirit on the body.

Seawater begs the pearl
to break its shell.

And the lily, how passionately
it needs some wild Darling!

At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face against mine.
Breathe into me.

Close the language-door,
and open the love-window

The moon won't use the door,
only the window.