02-JUL-2009
THE WOMAN I LOVE
Because the woman I love lives
inside of you,
I lean as close to your body with my words
as I can -
and I think of you all the time, dear pilgrim.
Because the One I love goes with you
wherever you go,
Hafiz will always be near.
If you sat before me, wayfarer,
with your aura bright from your many
charms,
my lips could resist rushing to you and needing
to befriend your blushed cheek,
but my eyes can no longer hide
the wondrous fact of who
you really are.
The beautiful One whom I adore
has pitched His royal tent inside of you,
so I will always lean my heart
as close to your soul
as I can.
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
27-MAY-2009
THE FISH AND I WILL CHAT
Once
In a while
The fish and I will chat
In the silent
Language:
We look
Into each other's eyes and smile,
And they often
Say,
"Hey, Hafiz
We see you know the joy of
Our existence,
We see you have discovered how meditation
Can free you from land,
Mind, debts, alimony - the
Whole works,
And like
Us
Let you carouse all day
In
God."
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
13-MAR-2009
MY SWEET, CRUSHED ANGEL
You have not danced so badly, my dear,
Trying to hold hands with the Beautiful One.
You have waltzed with great style,
My sweet, crushed angel,
To have ever neared God's heart at all.
Our Partner is notoriously difficult to follow,
And even His best musicians are not always easy
To hear.
So what if the music has stopped for a while.
So what
If the price of admission to the Divine
Is out of reach tonight.
So what, my dear,
If you do not have the ante to gamble for Real Love.
The mind and the body are famous
For holding the heart ransom,
But Hafiz knows the Beloved's eternal habits.
Have patience,
For He will not be able to resist your longing
For long.
You have not danced so badly, my dear,
Trying to kiss the Beautiful One.
You have actually waltzed with tremendous style,
O my sweet,
O my sweet, crushed angel.
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
13-NOV-2007
WHEN YOU CAN ENDURE
When
The words stop
And you can endure the silence
That reveals your heart's
Pain
Of emptiness
Or that great wrenching-sweet longing.
That is the time to try and listen
To what the Beloved's
Eyes
Most want
To
Say.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
31-AUG-2008
NEVER SAY IT IS NOT GOD
I taste what you taste. I know the kind of lyrics your
Souls most likes. I know which sounds will become
Resplendent in your mind and bring such pleasure
Your feet will jump and whirl.
When anything touches or enters your body
Never say it is not God, for He is
Just trying to get close.
I have no use for divine patience - my lips are always
Burning and everywhere. I am running from every corner
Of this world and sky wanting to kiss you;
I am every particle of dust and wheat - you and I
Are ground from His Own Body. I am rioting at your door;
I am spinning in midair like golden falling leaves
Trying to win your glance.
I am sweetly rolling against your walls and your shores
All night, even though you are asleep. I am singing from
The mouth of animals and birds honoring our
Beloved's promise and need: to let
you know the Truth.
My dear, when anything touches or enters your body
Never say it is not God, for He and I are
Just trying to get close to you.
God and I are rushing
From every corner of existence, needing to say,
"We are yours."
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
15-FEB-2009
BEAUTIFUL EMPTY PAGES
What kind of work
Can I do in this world?
Who would be kind enough
To hire an old holy Bum,
One with a great reputation
For loving the charms
Of the lawless
And the wild artists and the lewd?
Maybe I could become a poet.
Maybe the Beloved
Will make my love so Pure
That He will come to sit upon
All my Beautiful empty pages.
And when you come to look at them,
He might kick you
With His beautiful divine foot.
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
31-JAN-2009
BUTTERING THE SKY
Slipping
On my shoes,
Boiling water,
Toasting bread,
Buttering the sky:
That should be enough contact
With God in one day
To make anyone
Crazy.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
13-NOV-2007
SOMEONE UNTIED YOUR CAMEL
I cannot sit still with my countrymen in chains.
I cannot act mute
Hearing the world's loneliness
Crying near the Beloved's heart.
My love for God is such
That I could dance with Him tonight without you,
But I would rather have you there.
Is your caravan lost?
It is,
If you no longer weep from gratitude or happiness,
Or weep
From being cut deep with the awareness
Of the extraordinary beauty
That emanates from the most simple act
And common object.
My dear, is your caravan lost?
It is if you no longer be kind to yourself
And loving to those who must live
With the sometimes difficult task of loving you.
At least come to know
That someone untied your camel last night
For I hear its gentle voice
Calling for God in the desert.
At least come to know
That Hafiz will always hold a lantern
With galaxies blooming inside
And that
I will always guide your soul to
The divine warmth and exhilaration
Of our Beloved's
Tent.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
WITH THAT MOON LANGUAGE
Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them, "Love me."
Of course you do not do this out loud, otherwise
someone would call the cops.
Still, though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect.
Why not become the one who lives with a
full moon in each eye that is
always saying,
with that sweet moon language,
what every other eye in
this world is
dying to
hear?
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
24-DEC-2008
HOW FASCINATING
How
Fascinating the idea of death
Can be.
Too bad, though,
Because
It just isn't
True.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
11-AUG-2008
CORTEOUS TO THE ANT
God
Blooms
From the shoulder
Of the
Elephant
Who becomes
Courteous
To
The
Ant.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
16-APR-2008
EACH SOUL COMPLETES ME
My
Beloved said,
"My name is not complete without
yours."
I thought:
How could a human's worth ever be such?
And God knowing all our thoughts - and all our
thoughts are innocent steps on the path -
then addressed my
heart,
God revealed
a sublime truth to the world,
when He
sang,
"I am made whole by your life. Each soul,
each soul completes
me."
(Hafiz)
'Love Poems From God' by Daniel Ladinsky