If the foot of the trees were not tied to the earth, they would be pursuing me. For I have blossomed so much, I am the envy of the gardens.

About this quote

This is a contemporary popular rendering of Rumi — beloved, widely shared, and considerably freer than the classical translations of his Persian.

Rumi (1207–1273) composed the Masnavi and the Divan-e Shams in Konya. For sourced, public-domain translations see the Masnavi quotes on this site.