I’m still not sure what to do with a body. I am meditating on this poem by Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks). I thought I would share this puppetry version, just for fun. It relates to the themes I am discussing here, though I can’t quite articulate it more eloquently yet. If you enjoy this and want to see more Rumi-Puppetry-Poetry you can find our other creations Who’s at the Door, and Sublime Generosity on YouTube, where there will be more to come.
Here is the text of the poem:
On Ressurection Day your body testifies against you.
Your hand says, “I stole money.”
Your lips, “I said meanness.”
Your feet, “I went where I shouldn’t.”
Your genitals, “Me too.”
They will make your praying sound hypocritical.
Let the body’s doings speak openly now,
without your saying a word,
as a student’s walking behind a teacher
says, “This one knows more clearly
than I the way.”
can you post the full text of the poem?
Greatings, Thank you! I would now go on this blog every day!
To me, this poem is about understanding your self as whole, undivided - the body is not a corruption of the spirit but the spirit incarnate. So that the tales our bodies tell are not somehow other than our own. The Christian tradition has struggled with this, influenced by the gnostics, and Paul’s letters to conceive of the body as the problem, getting in the way of the good news of the spirit. Thus we end with Paul saying that we will all be resurrected with a body, but not a flesh-y body. The flesh, the material, is a problem.
Rumi has the body testifying “against” its very self - but perhaps it is better to think of it as bearing witness to the truth of a life. And if we can tell the same story with our bodies as our spirits reveal to us in our deepest selves, then perhaps there will not be a need for inconsistent testimony at the end of our lives.
Yes! This poem, to me, is a celebration, even though it is framed as a “testify against” scenario. Which - I hope our rendition here, properly satirized! To me it’s playful, while also being honest, serious. Reading your recent blog post, and thinking about this, makes me realize that this is part of why I love tattoos - it marks the body explicitly, the body is the spirit - I love that my fleshy flesh can bear witness. Which is also, as I suggest on your blog, why the image of a Jesus crucified is so satisfying - and such a celebration. We are so injured by life, and yet, to be so bold in the living is truly a testament to the spirit…
i forgot to say that i truly love the rumi puppetry!