Somehow more profound. [The Love Poems of Rumi by Rumi; translated by Nader Khalili]

Translated by renowned Rumi expert Nader Khalili, over 120 poems about love from the Persian mystic poet and Sufi master have been carefully collected and curated in this beautifully illustrated edition.

For more than eight centuries, Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi Rumi—commonly referred to simply as Rumi—has enchanted and enthralled readers from every faith and background with his universal themes of love, friendship, and spirituality, which he seamlessly wove into resplendent poetry.

The verses herein perfectly express and are centered on the theme of love, along with the quest, desire, and deeper meanings of love for not only ourselves, but also of our fellow humankind.

The Sweetheart
the sweetheart
who is blocking my sleep
demands tears on my knees
throwing me silently
into the waves
changing the water
to liquid sweet

With intricately designed and richly colored covers that mirror the beauty of the words within, the Timeless Rumi series presents themed collections of poems from the great Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi Rumi that serve as cherished tools for self-reflection.

Recently I read Nader Khalili's The Spiritual Poems of Rumi. I realized after I posted my reviews, when it felt dishonest to go back and add on after the fact, that what had been also been missing for me in that book, what would have added great context, were annotations. Some commentary on Rumi's life would have been an added plus. A lot of the poems are translated with the same name, so some differentiation in terms of providing the original notation would have also been great. 

That said, this translation of poetry from Khalili, The Love Poems of Rumi, somehow hit different. Better even. And I feel that it's just a poetry thing in general, but this felt more like reading Psalms. Somehow these selections from Rumi's poems on love felt more spiritual than those in the book dedicated to them. Again, that's probably more to the individual understanding, definition of spirituality. For most, I would assume and hope, they are inextricably entangled near oneness.

So I must preferred this read. I gave Spiritual Poems 3 stars, but I definitely enjoyed Love Poems much more. Of the two Love Poems is the must-have, the one to adorn the shelves of the personal bookshelf. But the fact of the matter is I want both. They're complimentary. Love Poems gets 4 stars from me. 

The Love Poems of Rumi was published September 15, 2020.