sayings

These are my modern English translations of poems, epigrams, sayings and quotes by Rumi. 

Elevate your words, not their volume. Rain grows flowers, not thunder.—Rumi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Forget security!
Live by the perilous sea.
Destroy your reputation, however glorious.
Become notorious.
—Rumi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Your heart’s candle is ready to be kindled.
Your soul’s void is waiting to be filled.
You can feel it, can’t you?
—Rumi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

These are my modern English translations of Native American poems, prayers, proverbs and blessings.

Sioux Vision Quest
by Crazy Horse, Oglala Lakota Sioux (circa 1840-1877)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

A man must pursue his Vision
as the eagle explores
the sky's deepest blues.

***

Native American Travelers' Blessing
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

I translated these poems when my father, Paul Ray Burch Jr., chose to end his life by declining to submit to dialysis treatments and enter hospice.

Cherokee Travelers' Blessing I
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch