M6:2973 — شد زنش را نسل از شوی دگر / وآن یتیمانش ز مرگش در سمر

Translation: His wife bore offspring from another spouse, And his orphans, of his death, were in storytelling. Meaning: This verse recounts that after Abdolghous's disappearance, his wife remarried and bore children, while his own orphaned children continuously recounted tales about their father's fate.

This verse continues the story of Abdolghous and his mysterious disappearance. After Abdolghous suddenly vanished from his family, life, as it must, moved on for others. His wife found her way forward and bore children from another man. Yet, for his own children, this separation and absence manifested differently. His orphans, now without a father, were "in samar". By samar, Rumi specifically means "storytelling" or "tale-telling," not merely "recollecting." A samār is a storyteller, much like the ancient kings would have samārs to recount stories to them at night to aid sleep. These orphans filled the void of their lost father by speculating and crafting tales about him. They would ask, as the subsequent verses make clear: "Did a wolf attack him, or a highwayman? / Did he fall into a pit or an ambush?" This was not simply remembrance, but a kind of reconstruction of the absent presence through words and imagination. This verse demonstrates how the void left by loss is filled through narration and imaginative conjecture in the minds of those left behind, even if these narratives are merely guesses and suppositions. It is here we see that even in the absence of a person, their presence continues in the samar and imagination of their children, a testament to the enduring spirit and its lasting impact on hearts, even behind the veil of absence.

Key takeaways

• Life continues after loss; those left behind cope with absence in their own distinct ways.
• The loss of a father manifests in children as storytelling and imaginative speculation about his fate.
• "Samar" signifies active storytelling and tale-weaving, representing an attempt to fill the void of absence.
• Collective memory and narration are powerful tools for preserving the presence of the absent and confronting oblivion.