O Silence!

Lesson 322: O Silence!

O silence! You are what is most precious in me!
You are the veil of all my real wealth!
Why parade knowledge?
Be silent, for in silence
There is neither fear nor hope nor gain nor loss.
Does a king tithe a destroyed and abandoned village?
I am abandoned and destroyed, more than any words can describe;
Don't scavenge in my words for any value or wisdom.

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi

(Translated by Andrew Harvey from A Year of Rumi)