I died as plant and rose to animal,
I died as animal and I was human,
Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?
Yet once more I shall die human,
To soar with angels blessed above.
And when I sacrifice my angel soul
I shall become what no mind ever conceived.
As a human, I will die once more,
Reborn, I will with the angels soar.
And when I let my angel body go,
I shall be more than mortal mind can know.
― Rumi
Artwork is titled “Lilies” and was painted c1911 by Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874–1939). Originally found on Wikimedia. Digitally enhanced version of the painting as a 7” x 5” @ 300 ppi JPEG here.
Digitally enhanced reproductions of public domain fine art are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.