Rumi is the name by which we remember Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, known also as Molavi or Molānā (“Master”). He was a 13th-century Persian poet and mystic of the Sufi tradition. His ecstatic poems about love and union with God have been widely translated. Below is one of his hundreds of four-line poems.
First with a thousand kind words he beguiled me,
Then with a thousand cruel torments reviled me—
He played with my love like a pawn in some game,
But when I was mastered, he hurled me away.
Original Persian/Farsi
Awwal be-hezâr lotf be-nvâkht marâ,
Akhar be-hezâr qûsseh bo-ghdâkht marâ.
Chon mohreh-é mehr-é khish mi-bâkht marâ,
Chon man hameh ô shodam, bi-yandâkht marâ.