16-NOV-2009
THAT BELIEVE IN GRAVITY
The wind and I could come by and carry
you the last part of your journey, if you
became light enough,
by just letting go of a few more things you
are clinging to... that still believe in
gravity.
(Hafiz)
'A Year with Hafiz' by Daniel Ladinsky
21-JAN-2013
GOD IS APPLAUDING
God is applauding our every act, but
He hides that reality from most, until
we can understand more about real
Love.
(Hafiz)
'A Year with Hafiz' by Daniel Ladinsky
10-MAR-2011
A Tethered Falcon
My heart sits on the arm of God
Like a tethered falcon
Suddenly unhooded.
I am now blessedly crazed
Because my Master's astounding effulgence
Is in constant view.
My piercing eyes,
Which have searched every world
For tenderness and love,
Now look on the royal target -
The wild holy One
Whose beauty illuminates existence.
I am a tethered falcon
With great wings and sharp talons poised,
Every sinew taut, like a sacred bow,
Quivering at the edge of my Self
And eternal freedom,
Though still held in check
By a miraculous
Divine golden cord.
Beloved,
I am waiting for You to free me
Into your mind
And infinite Being.
I am pleading in absolute helplessness
To hear, finally, your words of grace:
Fly! Fly into Me!
Hafiz,
Who can understand
Your sublime Nearness and Separation?
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky)
28-MAR-2011
"I am waiting for happiness," she said.
And I replied,
"I can open a sacred drawer in you
and there will be
all the gold and joy,
and companionship
you could ever want."
(Hafiz)
Translation by Daniel Ladinsky
07-AUG-2010
YOU DON'T HAVE TO ACT CRAZY ANYMORE
You don't have to act crazy anymore -
we all know you were good at that.
Now retire, my dear,
from all that hard work you do
Of bringing pain to your sweet eyes and heart.
Look in a clear mountain mirror -
see the beautiful ancient warrior
and the divine elements
you always carry inside
That infused this universe with sacred life
so long ago
And join you eternally
with all existence - with God!
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
25-DEC-2009
THAT DOES PERISH
The
Earth would die
If the sun stopped kissing her.
Hafiz is now such an exquisite world
That perishes
When God is not
Near.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
22-DEC-2007
I HAVE COME INTO THIS WORLD TO SEE THIS
I have come into this world to see this:
the sword drop from men's hands even at the height
of their arc of anger
because we have finally realized there is just one flesh to wound
and it is His - the Christ's, our
Beloved's.
I have come into this world to see this: all creatures hold hands as
we pass through this miraculous existence we share on the way
to even a greater being of soul,
a being of just ecstatic light, forever entwined and at play
with Him.
I have come into this world to hear this:
every song the earth has sung since it was conceived in
the Divine's womb and began spinning from
His wish,
every song by wing and fin and hoof,
every song by hill and field and tree and woman and child,
every song of stream and rock,
every song of tool and lyre and flute,
every song of gold and emerald
and fire,
every song the heart should cry with magnificent dignity
to know itself as
God;
for all other knowledge will leave us again in want and aching -
only imbibing the glorious Sun
will complete us.
I have come into the world to experience this:
men so true to love
they would rather die before speaking
an unkind
word,
men so true their lives are His covenant -
the promise of
hope.
I have come into this world to see this:
the sword drop from men's hands
even at the height of
their arc of
rage
because we have finally realized
there is just one flesh
we can wound.
(Hafiz)
"Love Poems From God" translation by Daniel Ladinsky
05-SEP-2009
True art reveals there is no void
Or darkness
There is no loneliness to the clear-eyed mystic
In this luminous, brimming
Playful world.
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
29-JUL-2009
From a sacred crevice in your body
A bow rises each night
And shoots your soul into God.
(Hafiz)
18-JUL-2009
I SAW YOU DANCING
I saw you dancing last night on the roof
Of your house all alone.
I felt your heart longing for the
Friend.
I saw you whirling
Beneath the soft bright rose
That hung from the invisible stem in
The sky,
So I began to change into my best clothes
In hopes of joining you
Even though
I live a thousand miles away.
And if
You had spun like an immaculate sphere
Just two more times,
Then bowed again so sweetly to
The east,
You would have found God and me
Standing so near
And lifting you into our
Arms.
I saw you dancing last night near the roof
Of this world.
Hafiz feels your soul in mine
Calling for our
Beloved.
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
31-JUL-2009
FAITHFUL LOVER
The moon came to me last night
With a sweet question.
She said,
"The sun has been my faithful lover
For millions of years.
Whenever I offer my body to him
Brilliant light pours from his heart.
Thousands then notice my happiness
And delight in pointing
Toward my beauty.
Hafiz,
Is it true that our destiny
Is to turn into Light
Itself?"
And I replied,
Dear moon,
Now that your love is maturing,
We need to sit together
Close like this more often
So I might instruct you
How to become
Who you
Are!
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
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
24-AUG-2008
LIKE PASSIONATE LIPS
There are
So many positions of
Love:
Each curve on a branch,
The thousand different ways
Your eyes can embrace us,
The infinite shapes your
Mind can draw,
The spring
Orchestra of scents,
The currents of light combusting
Like passionate lips,
The revolution of Existence's skirt
Whose folds contain other worlds,
Your every sigh that falls against
His inconceivable
Omnipresent
Body.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
23-MAY-2008
IT CUTS THE PLOW REINS
What does Purity do?
It cuts the plow reins.
It frees you from working and dining
In the mud.
It frees you from living behind
A big ox
That is always breaking wind.
What can Purity do, my dear?
It can lift your heart
On a rising, bucking Sun
That makes the soul hunger
To reach the roof of Creation.
It offers what the whole world wants-
Real Knowledge and Power.
It offers what the wise crave-
The priceless treasure of Freedom.
Pure Divine Love is no meek priest
Or tight banker.
It will smash all your windows
And only then throw in the holy gifts.
It will allow you to befriend
Life and light and sanity-
And not even mind waking
To another day.
It reveals the excitement of the Present
And the beauty of Precision.
It confers vitality and a sublime clarity
Until finally all the heart can do
Is burst open
With great love and laughter!
O Purity,
O dear Truth and Friend within me,
Why didn't you tell me sooner
You could do all this-
Cut the reins of illusion,
So we can all
Just go wild
Loving God
And everyone all day!
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
22-MAR-2008
THERE
There
I bow my head-
At the feet of every creature.
This constant submission and homage,
Of kissing God
All over,
Some day,
Every lover will
Do.
Only
There I prostrate myself-
Against the beauty of each form-
For when I bring
My heart close to any object
I always hear the Friend
Say,
"Hafiz, I am
Here."
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
12-OCT-2008
STARTLED BY GOD
Not like
A lone beautiful bird
These poems now rise in great white flocks
Against my mind's vast hills
Startled by God
Breaking a branch
When His foot
Touches
Earth
Near
Me.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
31-OCT-2008
YOU'RE IT
God
Disguised
As a myriad things and
Playing a game
Of tag
Has kissed you and said,
"You're it -
I mean, you're Really IT!"
Now
It does not matter
What you believe or feel
For something wonderful,
Major-league Wonderful
Is someday going
To
Happen.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
15-JUN-2008
JOIN ME IN THE PURE ATMOSPHERE
I slip in and out of the Sea at night with this
Amazed soul I have.
I am like a magnificent, magic ocean turtle
Who sets aside his vast wings of
Blue effulgence
When I crawl upon your shores
To leave my divine seed of verse.
Let me remain cryptic tonight
All the way till dawn
As I orbit God
In this holy, ecstatic mood.
Grab hold of the corners
Of my luminous, tender shell
And I will whirl for you,
For I am covered with eminent crystals
That I have gathered from the infinite depths
Of love.
Follow my tracks in the sand that lead
Beyond thought and space,
For I can see deep down
That you are really a golden bird
That needs to
Dance
With your spirit enraptured and ascending
On the currents of Light-
On the currents of His
Breath.
Join me with your hands, wings, hoofs or fins
In my sublime applause.
Join me in the pure atmosphere of gratitude
For life.
I slip in and out of the Moon each night
With a gracious ease
With this brilliant heart I have.
The Beautiful Friend, the Exquisite One,
Sometimes steps from His Invisible Body
And walks upon our shore
So that we might see and know
His Radiant Tender Shell-
His eminent crowns
That are the three worlds.
O grab hold of the hem of His skirt
As He spins this Universe on an emerald
Dance floor!
Cling to the Transcendent Elements in His glance
As the Beloved forever whirls
His Love.
Hafiz
Slips in and out of God at night
Tied to his own amazed
Soul.
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
20-JUN-2008
THE GUARDIANS OF HIS BEAUTY
We are the guardians of His Beauty.
We are the protectors
Of the Sun.
There is only one reason
We have followed God into this world:
To encourage laughter, freedom, dance
And love.
Let a noble cry inside of you speak to me
Saying,
"Hafiz,
Don't just sit there on the moon tonight
Doing nothing-
Help unfurl my heart into the Friend's Mind,
Help, Old Man, to heal my wounded wings!"
We are the companions of His Beauty.
We are the guardians
Of Truth.
Every man, plant and creature in Existence,
Every woman, child, vein and note
Is a servant of our Beloved-
A harbinger of joy,
The harbinger of
Light.
(Hafiz)
'The Subject Tonight Is Love' by Daniel Ladinsky
03-OCT-2008
A ROOT IN EACH ACT AND CREATURE
The sun's eyes are painting fields again.
Its lashes with expert strokes
Are sweeping across the land.
A great palette of light has embraced
This earth.
Hafiz, if just a little clay and water
Mixed in His bowl
Can yield such exquisite scents, sights,
Music - and whirling forms -
What unspeakable wonders must await with
The commencement of unfolding
Of the infinite number of petals
That are the
Soul.
What excitement will renew your body
When we all begin to see
That His heart resides in
Everything?
God has a root in each act and creature
That He draws His mysterious
Divine life from.
His eyes are painting fields again.
The Beloved with His own hands is tending,
Raising like a precious child,
Himself in
You.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
19-JUN-2008
AND FOR NO REASON
And
For no reason
I start skipping like a child.
And
For no reason
I turn into a leaf
That is carried so high
I kiss the Sun's mouth
And dissolve.
And
For no reason
A thousand birds
Choose my head for a conference table,
Start passing their
Cup of wine
And their wild songbooks all around.
And
For every reason in existence
I begin eternally,
To eternally laugh and love!
When I turn into a leaf
And start dancing,
I run to kiss our beautiful Friend
And I dissolve in the Truth
That I Am.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
03-OCT-2008
ZIKR
Remembrance lowers the cup into
His luminous sky-well.
The mind often becomes plagued and can deny
The all-pervading beauty
Of God.
When the great work of zikr (remembrance)
Is forgotten.
I have chained my every dancing atom
Into a divine seat in the Beloved's Tavern.
What I have learned
I am so eager to share:
Every ill will confess
It was just a lie
When the golden efforts of your love
Lift the precious wine
To your mouth.
Remembrance of our dear Friend
Lower's the soul's chalice
Into God.
Look, my sweet efforts and His Sublime Grace
Have now turned Creation into a single finger
On my hand
And from the vast reservoirs
In my heart and palms
Hafiz offers
God.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
03-OCT-2008
WHAT DO WHITE BIRDS SAY
The earth has disappeared beneath my feet,
It fled from all my ecstasy,
Now like a singing creature
I feel the rose
Keep opening.
My heart turned to effulgent wings.
When has love not given freedom?
When has adoration not made one free?
A woman broken in tears and sweat
Stands in a field
Watching the sun and me
Trade jokes.
But never would Hafiz laugh
At your blessed labor
Of finding peace.
What do the dancing white birds say
Looking down upon burnt meadows?
All that you think is rain is not.
Behind the veil Hafiz and angels sometimes weep
Because most eyes are rarely glad
And your divine beauty is still too frightened
To unfurl its thousand swaying arms.
The earth has disappeared beneath my feet,
Illusion fled from all my ecstasy.
Now like a radiant sky creature
God keeps opening,
God keeps opening
Inside of
Me.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
05-AUG-2008
Just as a normal man can climb
A high mountain
And on a clear day
See for many miles all around,
Hafiz can stand on a blessed peak
Inside his heart
And see for hundreds of years
In all directions.
And I tell you, dear ones,
That the Saheb-e-Zaman,
The Christ,
The Prophet,
The Ancient One,
Has made a date to Whirl,
To Whirl
With this Earth again!
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
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
26-JUL-2008
LOVE IS THE FUNERAL PYRE
Love is
The funeral pyre
Where I have laid my living body.
All the false notions of myself
That once caused fear, pain,
Have turned to ash
As I neared God.
What has risen
From the tangled web of thought and sinew
Now shines with jubilation
Through the eyes of angels
And screams from the guts of
Infinite existence
Itself.
Love is the funeral pyre
Where the heart must lay
Its body.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
06-AUG-2008
THE STAIRWAY OF EXISTENCE
We
Are not
In pursuit of formalities
Or fake religious
Laws,
For through the stairway of existence
We have come to God's
Door.
We are
People who need to love, because
Love is the soul's life,
Love is simply creation's greatest joy.
Through
The stairway of existence,
O, through the stairway of existence, Hafiz,
Have
You now come,
Have we all now come to
The Beloved's
Door.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
31-JUL-2008
THE MOUNTAIN GOT TIRED OF SITTING
The sun
Won a beauty contest and became a jewel
Set upon God's right hand.
The earth agreed to be a toe ring on the
Beloved's foot
And has never regretted its decision.
The mountains got tired
Of sitting amongst a sleeping audience
And are now stretching their arms
Toward the Roof.
The clouds gave my soul an idea
So I pawned my gills
And rose like a winged diamond
Ever trying to be near
More love, more love
Like you.
The Mountain got tired of sitting
Amongst a snoring crowd inside me
And rose like a ripe sun
Into my eye.
My soul gave my heart a brilliant idea
So Hafiz is rising like a
Winged diamond.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
26-JUL-2008
Every
Child
Has known God,
Not the God of names,
Not the God of don'ts,
Not the God who ever does
Anything weird,
But the God who only knows four words
And keeps repeating them, saying:
"Come dance with Me."
Come
Dance.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
07-FEB-2008
LAUGHING AT THE WORD TWO
Only
That Illumined
One
Who keeps
Seducing the formless into form
Had the charm to win my
Heart.
Only a Perfect One
Who is always
Laughing at the word
Two
Can make you know
Of
Love.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
09-JUL-2008
STAY CLOSE TO THOSE SOUNDS
The sun turns a key in a lock each day
As soon as it crawls out of bed.
Light swings open a door
And the many kinds of love rush out
Onto the infinite green field.
Your soul sometimes plays a note
Against the Sky's ear that excites
The birds and planets.
Stay close to any sounds
That make you glad you are alive.
Everything in this world is
Helplessly reeling.
An invisible wake was created
When God said to His beautiful dead lover,
"Be."
Hafiz, who will understand you
If you do not explain that last line?
Well then,
I will sing it this way,
When God said to Illusion,
"Be."
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
14-JUL-2008
TO BUILD A SWING
You carry
All the ingredients
To turn your life into a nightmare -
Don't mix them!
You have all the genius
To build a swing in your backyard
For God.
That sounds
Like a hell of a lot more fun.
Let's start laughing, drawing blueprints,
Gathering your talented friends.
I will help you
With my divine lyre and drum.
Hafiz
Will sing a thousand words
You can take into your hands,
Like golden saws,
Silver hammers,
Polished teakwood,
Strong silk rope.
You carry all the ingredients
To turn your existence into joy,
Mix them, mix
Them!
(hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
19-JUN-2008
THE SUN NEVER SAYS
Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth,
"You owe
Me."
Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the
Whole
Sky.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
07-JUL-2008
THIS CONSTANT YEARNING
We are
Like lutes
Once held by God.
Being away from His warm body
Fully explains
This
Constant
Yearning.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
20-JUN-2008
IN NEED OF THE BREATH
My heart
Is an unset jewel
Upon the tender night
Yearning for its dear old friend
The Moon.
When the Nameless One debuts again
Ten thousand facets of my being unfurl wings
And reveal such a radiance inside
I enter a realm divine -
I too begin so sweetly cast light,
Like a lamp,
Through the streets of this
World.
My heart is an unset jewel
Upon existence
Waiting for the Friend's touch.
Tonight
My heart is an unset ruby
Offered bowed and weeping to the Sky.
I am dying in these cold hours
For the resplendent glance of God.
I am dying
Because of a divine remembrance
Of who - I really am.
Hafiz, tonight,
Your soul
Is a brilliant reed instrument
In need of the breath of the
Christ.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
23-JUN-2008
It was beautiful,
It was so beautiful one night
We all began expecting to hear
God speak
In the waves reaching toward
The millet fields,
From the mouths of the hanging sky-ornaments
Crooning in light's intimate codes,
From the glances of plants and children
Playing with effulgent love.
Existence was so beautiful one night
We all began to expect
Our Beloved would
Speak
At the height of our wing's senses
That were stunned
Trying to comprehend the divine
Through the tiny organic
Filters,
That were stunned in glimpsing the reality
Of the thousand miraculous components
Of each moment
And step.
But we can't,
We can't yet hear God whistling inside,
So we weep.
We will all weep in some way
Until we
Do.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
17-JUN-2008
WHAT IS THE ROOT
What
Is the
Root of all these
Words?
One thing: Love.
But a love so deep and sweet
It needed to express itself
With scents, sounds, colors
That never before
Existed.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
29-MAY-2008
FOREVER DANCE
I am happy even before I have a reason.
I am full of Light even before the sky
Can greet the sun or the moon.
Dear companions,
We have been in love with God
For so very, very long.
What can Hafiz do but
Forever
Dance!
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
15-JUN-2008
MY BRILLIANT IMAGE
One day the sun admitted,
I am just a shadow.
I wish I could show you
The Infinite Incandescence (Tej)
That cast my brilliant image!
I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in darkness,
The Astonishing Light
Of your own Being!
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
12-MAY-2008
What is this
precious Love
and Laughter
Budding in
our hearts?
It is the
Glorious sound
Of a Soul
Waking up!
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
28-SEP-2007
THIS UNION
This
Union you want
With the earth and sky,
This Union we all need with love,
A golden wing from God's heart just
Touched the ground,
Now
Step upon it
With your brave sun-vows
And help our eyes
to
Dance!
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
01-JUN-2008
KEEPING WATCH
In the morning
When I began to wake,
It happened again -
That feeling
That You, Beloved,
Had stood over me all night
Keeping watch,
That feeling
That as soon as I began to stir
You put Your lips on my forehead
And lit a Holy Lamp
Inside my heart.
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky
15-AUG-2006
NOW IS THE TIME
Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.
Now, why not consider
A lasting truce with yourself and God.
Now is the time to understand
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child's training wheels
To be laid aside
When you finally live
With veracity
And love.
Hafiz is a divine envoy
Whom the Beloved
Has written a holy message upon.
My dear, please tell me,
Why do you still
Throw sticks at your heart
And God?
What is it in that sweet voice inside
That incites you to fear?
Now is the time for the world to know
That every thought and action is sacred.
This is the time
For you to deeply compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.
Now is the season to know
That everything you do
Is sacred.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
13-MAY-2008
A CRYSTAL RIM
The
Earth
Lifts its glass to the sun
And light - light
Is poured.
A bird
Comes and sits on a crystal rim
And from my forest cave I
Hear singing.
So I run to the edge of existence
And join my soul in love.
I lift my heart to God
And grace is poured.
An emerald bird rises from inside me
And now sits
Upon the Beloved's
Glass.
I have left that dark cave forever.
My body has blended with His.
I lay my wing
As a bridge to you
So that you can join us
Singing.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
06-MAY-2008
A STILL CUP
For
God
To make love,
For the divine alchemy to work,
The pitcher needs a still cup.
Why
Ask Hafiz to say
Anything more about
Your most
Vital
Requirement?
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
07-MAY-2008
WE HAVE NOT COME TO TAKE PRISONERS
We have not come to take prisoners,
But to surrender ever more deeply
To freedom and joy.
We have not come into this exquisite world
To hold ourselves hostage from love.
Run my dear,
From anything
That may not strengthen
Your precious budding wings.
Run like hell my dear,
From anyone likely
To put a sharp knife
Into the sacred, tender vision
Of your beautiful heart.
We have a duty to befriend
Those aspects of obedience
That stand outside of our house
And shout to our reason
"O please, O please,
Come out and play."
For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits,
But to experience ever and ever more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom, and
Light!
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
26-JUL-2007
GOD JUST CAME NEAR
No
One
In need of love
Can sit with my verse for
An hour
And then walk away without carrying
Golden tools,
And feeling that God
Just came
Near.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
20-APR-2008
AND LOVE SAYS
And love
Says,
"I will, I will take care of you,"
To everything that is
Near.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
25-APR-2008
A FOREST HERB
Some poets have the skill to talk
About God
Without ever using any of His pseudonyms.
Some have such skill
You do not need to walk to the river
With your bucket.
They, with words' magnetism,
Can coax Venus from her primal orbit and steal
From her mouth
That one drop of miraculous dew
She has been collecting in her veins
Since time said,
"I Am."
I will wear
All the common garb of tongue
If it will win me your friendship.
I will turn myself into a
Forest Herb
If
You will
Apply me to your
Wounds.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
16-APR-2008
THE HEART IS RIGHT
The
Heart is right to cry
Even when the smallest drop of light,
Of love,
Is taken away.
Perhaps you may kick, moan, scream
In a dignified
Silence,
But you are so right
To do so in any fashion
Until God returns
To
You.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
19-NOV-2007
MY EYES SO SOFT
Don't surrender your loneliness
So quickly.
Let it cut more deep.
Let it ferment and season you
As few human
Or divine ingredients can.
Something missing in my heart tonight
Has made my eyes so soft,
My voice
So tender,
My need of God
Absolutely
Clear.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
24-FEB-2008
THE HEART'S CORONATION
The pawn
Always sits stunned,
Chained, unable to move
Beneath God's magnificent power.
It is essential for the heart's coronation
For the pawn to realize
There is nothing but divine movement
In this
World.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
05-FEB-2007
IT FELT LOVE
How
Did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
All its
Beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its
Being.
Otherwise,
We all remain
Too
Frightened.
(Hafiz)
'The Gift' Poems by Hafiz - translations by Daniel Ladinsky
10-JUN-2007
YOUR BEAUTIFUL PARCHED, HOLY MOUTH
A poet is someone
Who can pour Light into a spoon,
Then raise it
To nourish
Your beautiful parched, holy mouth.
(Hafiz)
'I Heard God Laughing' by Daniel Ladinsky