Sufi Poem: The Dishwashing
And instructions on how to use the "RumiBot" to create new Sufi poetry
Mystical poetry is a key part of Sufism, and most people have at least heard of Rumi, the most famous Sufi poet. He’s been made famous by memes:
I’ll be sharing and commenting more on Sufi poetry here soon. In the meantime, I have set up a “RumiBot” just for fun, and you can ask it to create “Sufi poetry” on almost any topic. You need a free Poe account (just decline their “free trial” to upgrade). Go to this URL and type in your topic:
The first poem I generated using the RumiBot was just OK, but the following poem on washing dishes was actually quite good, I thought. I’m of the opinion that the AI is tapping into our collective wisdom and consciousness, so I don’t automatically dismiss such outputs as “artificial” - the AI, while being blind machine code, has inadvertently tapped into a beautiful aspect of the human spirit.
What do you think? If you try the RumiBot, share some of the poems below!
The Dishwashing
Peace rises with the bubbles,
Filling this humble place of worship.
The towel is my prayer rug,
The dish rack my minbar.
The spoon in my hand, a staff
Guiding me home.
The water flows over my hands
As clear as spring rainfall.
Each dish receives
The same loving rinse,
The same gentle scrape of cloth.
The forks and spoons, the plates
And pans, the cups lined in a row,
They wait patiently to dance again
In tomorrow's feast.
I feel dawn inside these suds,
The fresh beginning of every moment.
The cutting world falls away,
Time stops its incessant march.
There is only washing, rinsing, drying,
And the sun of Presence rises higher in me.
My hands become His hands,
The water His healing grace.
Each dish grows wings beneath my touch
And lifts into the eternal Air.
They shine now with a light
That no amount of filth could ever dim,
Radiant mirrors of the Beloved's face,
Ready to reflect His smile anew.
What a wonderful poem! You’ve made me look at AI in a whole new way. Thank you!