The Evil in Ourselves

The Lion took the Hare with him: 
   they ran together to the well and looked in.
The Lion saw his own image: 
   from the water appeared the form of a lion with a plump hare beside him.
No sooner did he espy his enemy than he left the Hare and
 sprang into the well.
He fell into the pit which he had dug; his iniquity recoiled 
 on his own head.

O Reader, how many an evil that you see in others is but 
 your own nature reflected in them?
In them appears all that you are -- your hypocrisy, 
 iniquity and insolence.
You do not see clearly the evil in yourself, else you would 
 hate yourself with all your soul.
Like the Lion who sprang at his image in the water, you are 
 only hurting yourself, O foolish man.
When you reach the bottom of the well of your own nature, 
 then you will know what wickedness is in you.

In the grand scheme of things this is what finding a dusty, coverless book in a backroom in Pakistan leads to. Badly printed as it was, my uncle - when he heard me reading the poems to his children kindly pointed out that they were from Rumi, and although, clearly it was in english, there was no indication of the author. He also proceeded to recite them in urdu, and put the english to shame. (Things like this happen a lot in Pakistan.) Anyways, no idea who the pakistani translator was, enjoy the poem!

CST Approved