Throughout my long, and often bewildering, life, I have had periodic “Rumi phases,” periods of deep reflection and questioning during which conventional wisdom (i.e. Western wisdom) could not fill the void in my soul. At such times, I turned to Rumi’s poetry and let it wash over me like a crystalline wave. Written in Farsi in the 13th century, these mystical gems transcend the barriers of religion and culture to suggest that access to enlightenment comes through love—a love that accompanies each of us through life as a fellow seeker and sufferer, a living presence that knows our yearning, our brokenness, our unquenchable thirst for beauty…Hence, this song cycle, tribute to a Sufi mystic who knew me before I knew myself.

- Germaine Shames, 2025

LOVE SONG TO RUMI

from the Rumi Cycle

Drone:
Dah-stan
Rah-van

When the world grows shaky
And its edges dim
I find peace in Rum
There’s no shaking him

His words may be simple
Yet they stir me deep
I may not have found truth
But at night I sleep

Wisdom of the ages
Light shines from his pages
Humb’lest of sages
Lights up my sky

As the times switch pattern
I get what I need
From rare poems and flowers
Sown by wise Rumi

I’m part of the mystery
Hurting like the rest
Who can say what lies ahead?
Trust it’s for the best

Wisdom of the ages
Light shines from his pages
Humble-est of sages
Lighting up my sky

He taught me grace, he taught me daring
It’s fearlessness I’m wearing on this flight
My friend, my faithful guiding star
With few words he takes me far beyond my troubled mind

When the world grows shaky
And its edges dim
I find peace in Rumi
There’s no shaking him

Wisdom of the ages
Light shines from his pages
Humb’lest of sages
Lights up my sky

Lights up my sky…

KEEP BREAKING MY HEART

from the Rumi Cycle

Drone:

Del-eh Ma-ra Baz-kon

I’ve taken the zig-zag journey
To places no one names in books
Among rare dwarves and giants
Fate has sunk its hooks in me, and hooked I lift my eyes and ask you please…

Keep breaking my heart
Keep breaking my heart ‘till it opens
Keep breaking my heart
My broken pieces fall waiting to bloom

I’ve followed the path of pilgrims
To caverns never kissed by light
Among the blessed and dying
I tremble at the sight of you so high above the madness I once knew

Keep breaking my heart
Keep breaking my heart ‘till it opens
Keep breaking my heart
My broken pieces fall waiting to bloom

I won’t resist 
I won’t resist
I’ll be your Shangri-la at journey’s end  

Keep breaking my heart
Keep breaking my heart ‘till it opens
Keep breaking my heart
Keep breaking my heart ‘till it opens
Keep breaking my heart
My heart

ROSES ON MY TEARS

from the Rumi Cycle

Drone:

Ro-zeh, Ro-zeh

You set my life on fire and fan its flames
In velvet-shrouded myst’ty you go unnamed
A single careless whisper stray dreams ignite 
I’ve barely breathed these burning summer nights 

You send your arrows through me, pierce me deep
Your star-stung eyes caress me in my sleep
Untouchable, you dwell in worlds unseen
Rising from the embers, sov’reign queen 

Your love’s beyond my wanting and my fears
If you must go, scatter roses on my tears
Roses on my tears

You live within my yearning, a silent twin
Your nearness the one love song amid life's din
Not Earth nor heaven hold you; you're freer than a spark
Glimmering through the memories seared forever in my heart

Your love is greater than my fears
If you must go, scatter roses on my tears
Roses on my tears
Roses on my tears

I would like to grow an arbor 
And live inside its walls
But ev’ry time I close the gate
I hear your wild heart call

Your love has been my refuge through the years
If you must go, scatter roses on my tears
Roses on my tears
Roses on my tears

WHEN THE WIND COMES UP

from the Rumi Cycle

These are not tears
A river’s changed its course
Flowing through my mind
Awash in metaphors

All the dry years
I wandered parched with thirst
What might dust have made me 
Had grace not found me first?

Gone the stray fears
That kept me searching blind
Bound to thwarted saints
With lightning in their eyes

Truth crests the waves
Like treasure washed ashore
Gladly would I rest
But morning whispers, “More”

When the wind comes up
The sail just needs to open
And the world’s a sea of beauty 
Though everything is broken

These are not tears
I’m looking through new eyes
At wonders I once dreamed
Through nights that mesmerized

All the lost years
Spent chasing wayward stars
Hungering to see your face
While mercy’s all you are

I see you in clear water
So still and so sublime
Your heart glows in the shallows
Then ripples out like wine

When the wind comes up
The sail just needs to open
And the world’s a sea of beauty 
Though everything is broken

When the wind comes up
The sail just needs to open
And the world’s a sea of beauty 
Though everything is broken

These are not tears
These are not tears

LOVE HAS MADE ME A MOUNTAIN

from the Rumi Cycle

Drone:

Esh mah-ra sakh-the est

I’ve been living the mystery
At times it seems I’ve lost my mind
Forged in the fire of daydreams
Strange yearnings hover undefined

I’ve been flowing beyond fear
Believing in that still, small voice
How it sings, how it whispers
Hold me while I drown in my joy 

Love has made me a mountain
You call, and I echo
You call, and I echo
Though where I’ll find you, only love knows 
Where I’ll find you, only love knows

I’ve been dreaming of oceans
Rising silver to meet the stars
Worlds swept up in their current
Was this flood of beauty ever ours? 

Love has made me a mountain
You call and I echo
You call and I echo
Though where I’ll find you, only love knows 

And if we meet at the end of the world
There’ll be time enough, time enough to kiss you once
And once I’ve kissed you, melt into the night

How entrancing the labyrinths
Winding toward your pure, pale light
Mother so tenderly waiting
Home I’ve come without a cloud in sight

Love has made me a mountain
You call and I echo
You call and I echo
You call and I echo