Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi: Untitled ["Thanksgiving is sweeter than bounty itself"]

Thanksgiving is sweeter than bounty itself.
One who cherishes gratitude does not cling to the gift!
Thanksgiving is the true meat of God’s bounty;
the bounty is its shell,
For thanksgiving carries you to the hearth of the Beloved.
Abundance alone brings heedlessness, thanksgiving gives
birth to alertness.
The bounty of thanksgiving will satisfy and elevate you,
and you will bestow a hundred bounties in return.
Eat your fill of God’s delicacies,
and you will be freed from hunger and begging.




Untitled ["Thanksgiving is sweeter than bounty itself"], attributed to Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Source unknown. If you have bibliographic information for this poem, please share.

Curator's note: This poem is offered in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

Art credit: "Hunger," photograph by Suzanne Tucker (digitally altered by curator).