07-JUN-2008
DEEPENING THE WONDER
Death is a favor to us,
But our scales have lost their balance.
The impermanence of the body
Should give us great clarity,
Deepening the wonder in our senses and eyes
Of this mysterious existence we share
And are surely just traveling through.
If I were in the Tavern tonight,
Hafiz would call for drinks
And as the Master poured, I would be reminded
That all I know of life and myself is that
We are just a midair flight of golden wine
Between His Pitcher and His Cup.
If I were in the Tavern tonight,
I would buy freely for everyone in this world
Because our marriage with the Cruel Beauty
Of time and space cannot endure very long.
Death is a favor to us,
But our minds have lost their balance.
The miraculous existence of
Form
Always makes the illumined ones
Laugh and sing.
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
11-SEP-2008
FOR A SINGLE TEAR
I
Know of beauty
That no one has ever
Known.
How could that be possible
When I may seem
So new in infinite time?
It is because God belongs to only you!
Did you hear that?
Did you hear what Hafiz just said?
God belongs to only you!
It is the only reasonable payment
For a single
Tear.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
09-SEP-2008
PLAYING IN THE BRILLIANCE
The Pir (the saint) looks out from his boat,
That has sunk
To the bottom of the Ocean.
And he so clearly sees
That all the fish
Are playing in the Soft Brilliance.
The Pir lifts his lute
From the bow of his boat
Then starts singing:
"Dear ones,
Why let your winsome body act
As if it is living against a tyrant's knife?
Why pretend your expansive existence,
Your Imperial Nature,
Have all been squeezed
Into a tiny red hot skillet
That is being kicked by a camel's hoof
Over the dry sand?"
For your friend Hafiz
So clearly sees we are all immersed
In the Soft Brilliance.
We are all just waiting to break camp-
Into God.
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
24-DEC-2007
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A HEART?
Once a young woman asked me,
"How does it feel to be a man?"
And I replied,
"My dear,
I am not sure."
Then she said,
"Well, aren't you a man?"
And this time I replied,
"I view gender
As a beautiful animal
That people often take for a walk on a leash
And might enter in some odd contest
To try to win strange prizes.
My dear,
A better question for Hafiz
Would have been,
'How does it feel to be a heart?'
For all I know is Love,
And I find my heart Infinite
And Everywhere!"
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
01-SEP-2008
OUT OF THIS MESS
Pray
To be humble
So that God does not
Have to appear to be so stingy.
O pray to be honest,
Strong,
Kind,
And pure,
So that the Beloved is never miscast
As a cruel great miser.
I know you have a hundred complex cases
Against God in court,
But never mind, wayfarer,
Let's just get out of this mess
And pray to be loving and humble
So that the Friend will be forced to reveal
Himself
So
Near!
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
01-SEP-2008
THE DAY SKY
Let us be like
Two falling stars in the day sky.
Let no one know of our sublime beauty
As we hold hands with God
And burn
Into a sacred existence that defies-
That surpasses
Every description of ecstasy
And love.
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
01-SEP-2008
I AM FULL OF LOVE TONIGHT
I am full of love tonight
Come look into my eyes, and let's go off
Sailing, my dear, on a long ocean ride.
This world will not touch you,
I will keep you snug upon my seat.
Let's plot
To make the moon jealous
With a radiance leaping from your cheek.
I will be full of love tonight,
Come look into those ancient eyes!
And let's go off sailing, my dear,
With our spirits intertwined.
Your body is just an old sandbar
In a speeding hourglass of time.
Love will turn the mouth of sorrow
Right side up.
Let your heart commence its destined
Laughing chime!
Hafiz will be brimful of love tonight,
Why ever be shy?
Come look into the playful eyes of my verse,
They are eternally branded,
Branded with
The Sun!
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
12-AUG-2008
AWAKE AWHILE
Awake awhile.
It does not have to be
Forever,
Right now.
One step upon the Sky's soft skirt
Would be enough.
Hafiz,
Awake awhile.
Just one True moment of Love
Will last for days.
Rest all your elaborate plans and tactics
For knowing Him,
For they are all just frozen spring buds
Far,
So far from Summer's Divine Gold.
Awake, my dear.
Be kind to your sleeping heart.
Take it out into the vast fields of Light
And let it breathe.
Say,
"Love,
Give me back my wings.
Lift me,
Lift me nearer."
Say to the sun and moon,
Say to our dear Friend,
"I will take You up now, Beloved,
On that wonderful Dance You promised!"
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
13-OCT-2007
A SINGING CLEANING WOMAN
A leaf says,
"Sweethearts - don't pick me,
For I am busy doing
God's work.
I am lowering my veins and roots
Like ropes
With buckets tied to them
Into the earth's deep
Lake.
I am drawing water
That I offer like a rose to
The sky.
I am a singing cleaning woman
Dusting all the shelves in
The air
With my elegant green
Rags.
I have a heart.
I can know happiness like
You."
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
31-JUL-2008
THE SKY HUNTER
Keep
Ringing the bell,
Playing the tamboura, calling for Him.
For you
Have touched something holy inside
With your spirit-body
And now your eyes look broken
Without His sacred presence near.
The heart is like that: blessed and ruined
Once it has known
Divine beauty,
Then,
It becomes a restless sky hunter.
The lover keeps circling in their being
Their sweetest moments
With God
Needing to kiss
His face
Again.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
22-JUN-2008
SHE RESPONDED
The bird's favorite songs
You do not hear,
For their most flamboyant music takes place
When their wings are stretched
Above the trees
And they are smoking the opium
Of pure freedom.
It is healthy for the prisoner
To have faith
That one day he will again move about
Wherever he wants,
Feel the wondrous grit of life -
Less structured,
Find all wounds, debts stamped canceled,
Paid.
I once asked a bird,
"How is it that you fly in this gravity
Of darkness?"
She responded,
"Love lifts
Me."
(Hafiz)
26-SEP-2007
THIS SKY
This
Sky
Where we live
Is no place to lose your wings
So love, love
Love.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky