The rich and glorious Persian Literature has it that Rumi, in grief and agony over losing his mystical lover, Shams of Tabriz, renounces his Sufi teachings at the Sufi-Convent in the Turkish town of Konya, and embarks on a non-stop whirling and out loud poetry reciting around the streets and town at nights. The following verses that I've translated are but few of thousands of spontaneous verses which Rumi had uttered while roaming around the streets all night, searching for his lost lover. Staying up all night, Rumi not only poetically ponders on his life of solitude after Sham's departure, but he also uses the quietness of the night to engage in a Sufi's most sought after and cherished dialogue of all dialogues: Conversations with God.
