A craftsman pulled a reed from the reedbed, cut holes in it, and called it a human being. Since then, it's been wailing a tender agonyof parting, never mentioning the skillthat gave it life as a flute

Jalaluddin Rumi
About This Quote

A craftsman pulled a reed from the reedbed,cut holes in it, and called it a human being.Since then, it's been wailing a tender agonyof parting, never mentioning the skillthat gave it life as a flute.This short poem was written by Rainer Maria Rilke and shares a deeper meaning. In this instance, the craftsperson is the ocean. In nature, there are many creatures that live in harmony with their surroundings. The ocean has been sculpting the Earth for thousands of years and only now is it beginning to notice that it had a hand in forming this world.

The words used in this poem refer to the “craftsman” of nature who is working away at his own artistry. It also comments on how he is making the ocean feel pain as he is taking away its source of life – the reed.

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More Quotes By Jalaluddin Rumi
  1. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grassthe world is too full to talk about.
  2. When I am with you, we stay up all night. When you're not here, I can't go to sleep. Praise God for those two insomnias! And the difference between them.
  3. In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.
  4. Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.
  5. Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.
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