I Am and I Am Not

I’m drenched in the flood

which has yet to come

I’m tied up in the prison

which has yet to exist

Not having playedthe game of chess

I’m already the checkmate

Not having tasted a single cup of your wine

I’m already drunk

Not having entered the battlefield
I’m already wounded and slain

I no longer know the difference

between image and reality

Like the shadow

I am
And
I am not

Jalaluddin Rumi,

Persian Poet